The Ark Royal Saga
by Wes Imlay
Summary: A battlestar that has been decommissioned is about to be inactivated and put into storage when the Cylons attack. In the chaos and confusion following the attack, can a battlestar with no air wing have a chance of surviving?
1. Chapter 1: Firestorm

**The **_**Ark Royal**_** Saga**

**Written by: Wes Imlay**

**(Author's Note: Battlestar _Ark Royal _made an appearance in the Battlestar Hermes/Battlestar Victorious Universe, otherwise known as the D5 Multiverse on the Galactica Fanon Wiki. It has made an appearance in the story 'Survival of the Battlestar Stryker' and was mentioned in the story 'Once Burned'.)**

**Chapter One: Firestorm**

**History of the name **_**Ark Royal**_**:**

From the time the first ships of the Virgon Royal Fleet began to patrol the space around the colony, there have been many names that were passed down as new ships appeared and the old ones found their way to the breakers. Among the ships that served in defense of the colony was named _Ark Royal_, and the name had long since held a place of affection in the hearts of not only the royalty but also in the hearts of the citizens.

In the modern Colonial Fleet there are five battlestars that can trace their lineage back to the days of the old Royal Fleet; _Atlantia, Redoubtable, Royal Oak, Indomitable_, and _Ark Royal_. Apart from the _Atlantia_, four of these names live on in the Illustrious-class of battlestars.  
><strong><br>Battlestar **_**Ark Royal **_**(BS-50):**

**Ten Days Before the Fall:**

**In Orbit of Tauron:**

The _Illustrious_-class battlestar _Ark Royal_ had made its way from the formation of battlestars that composed Battlestar Group 61 of the Fifteenth Fleet. To the casual observer, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but on the inside, there was a crisis going on. In some areas of society, a small fire was nothing to be worried about, but in space on a ship, it could easily morph into a disaster of epic proportions.

**CIC: **

"Get me a damage report," Commander Audra Ortiz called out to her XO from the Command and Control Station. The forty-five year old from Caprica had been in command of the Ark Royal for slight over four months now and this was something she had hoped would not happen. The best she could hope for is that the crew's training would kick in and they would be able to extinguish the blaze before events spiraled out of control.

"Chief Lancaster says that they have managed to contain the fire and extinguish it," Colonel Yesinia Hawkins said as she relayed the latest communication from Chief Reginald Lancaster.

"At least when he said it was easy to put out he meant it," Ortiz said, Lancaster had managed to keep it from spreading and causing more damage to the ship.

"Commander there's a report being sent from Sickbay," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward announced.

Ortiz walked over to read the report from Doctor Robles. Her eyes scanned the report and despite the optimism worded on the page, a feeling of regret began to enter her mind. There had been one death and two hospitalizations resulting from the fire. By most standards those were surprisingly low but at a time like this one death was one too many.

"Colonel Chandler, order the air group to land immediately. We'll document the damage from the fire and then launch our birds tomorrow," she said.

Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler relayed the orders and within minutes the Vipers and Raptors that composed the air group of the _Ark Royal_ began landing.

"Stand down from Condition One to Condition Three until further notice," she ordered and breathed a sigh of relief that it was just a minor fire and one that did not endanger the ship. _Ark Royal_ was fortunate enough to be a 'lucky' ship.

**The Next Day: **

**Queenstown, Picon: **

**Colonial Fleet Bureau of Ships,****Donald S. Cramer Building: **

Commander Caden Charka stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor of the Donald S. Cramer, the main building that was a part of the complex of buildings of the Colonial Fleet Bureau of Ships. The forty-five year old Colonial Fleet officer had been at his house back home on Scorpia when he received a message instructing him to come to Picon as quickly as he could.

He entered the room that led to the office of the Director of the Colonial Fleet Bureau of Ships, Rear Admiral Patrick Bennett, and informed the secretary that he was here for his meeting.

The secretary, Charka noted her name was 'Miranda Sterne', promptly buzzed him into Bennett's office.

"Commander Caden Charka, reporting as ordered," Charka said when he entered the room and stood at attention.

"At ease Commander and take a seat," Bennett said as he arranged some folders that were on his desk before asking, "Do you remember Commander Audra Ortiz?"

"Yes sir, she relieved me as CO of the _Ark Royal_ four months ago," Charka said. The _Ark_ had been his last space command before he was transferred to the staff of Vice Admiral Gregory Black and had been posted to Fort Autzen on Scorpia. He was actually glad for the chance to serve on Scopria and be back on his home colony.

"Yes…well there's been a small fire onboard the _Ark_ yesterday. It broke out in the Chief Petty Officers' Mess and was contained; however there were two injuries and one fatality. President Adar has sent word to Admiral Corman that he wants the _Ark Royal_ decommissioned as part of his plan to reduce the size of the Colonial Fleet."

"I see, and where do I fit into this?"

"The President has requested that Commander Ortiz and her XO be relieved until new assignments can be found for them. You are to relieve her as CO of the _Ark Royal_ and send the ship into retirement. It's going to fall to you to oversee the decommissioning and inactivation process."

"Admiral, if you don't mind me asking you; why was I selected for this assignment?"

"Governor Walter Becton himself has requested that you oversee the _Ark's _decommissioning. It seems you left quite the impression on him when you were in command of the battlestar."

Charka remembered the occasion the Governor was referring to. It was last year when he had first taken command of the _Ark_. He had attended a social gathering at the Petrus Palace, and as the _Ark's_ name had roots that dated back to the Virgon Royal Fleet, both he and his officers were invited to attend the gathering.

Admiral Frederick Becton, Governor Becton's older brother, was there as well and had met both Charka and Commander Elisa Smith of the_ Illustrious_ class _Royal Oak_. The flag officer told both of them that he would do what he could to make sure they made flag rank, a promotion that was usually a slow process in the peacetime Colonial Fleet.

He did not want to drag out the conversation further and realized that there probably no way he was going to get away from this assignment. It was best that he show the right attitude. Perhaps that could come back to help him when all of this was over with.

"I'll be happy to take command of the _Ark_ once again; Governor Becton can count on me to handle the ship with the utmost care."

Bennett stood up and offered a handshake, which Charka promptly took.

"Thank you Commander, you'll have time to gather your belongings on Scorpia before you head to Lampetia Shipyard to take command of the _Ark Royal_."

**Wardroom: **

Ortiz had assembled the department heads that composed her senior staff. She had received the communiqué from Picon Fleet Headquarters that had confirmed her worst fears.

"As of 0830 the Battlestar _Ark Royal_ is hereby ordered to proceed to Lampetia Shipyard to begin the process of decommissioning and inactivation. The air wing will depart one day from now and the following day we will formally decommission our ship by order of President Richard Adar and Fleet Admiral Peter Corman. Also, upon reaching Lampetia there will be a change of command. Both Colonel Hawkins and I are being relieved of command. Commander Caden Charka and Colonel Patrick Killian will be assuming command and will see the _Ark_ through its last days of active service."

**The Day of the Fall:**

**Lampetia Shipyard:**

**Docking Ring, Berth 8-C**

"How does it feel to be the one to send the _Ark_ off?" Colonel Patrick Killian asked.

"Feel wrong for the most part, there's so much life left in her. Sending her off to reserve because of a small fire isn't right," Commander Caden Charka said.

"May not be right but that's the reality of Adar's great plan," Killian said with more than a hint of disgust. President Richard Adar had put forward a plan that as he put it would 'reshape the Colonial Fleet into a fighting force that would be both strong and effective.' In other words, he wanted to gut the fleet and reduce its size to a small fraction of what it had once been.

"We're weaker now because of it, he's halved the number of active battlestars and plans to do even more in the future," Charka said. Just a few days ago, he had been informed that he had been selected to be the first Commanding Officer of the Stryker-class Battlestar _Hood_ when it was completed in the next few months. Now that assignment might be in doubt because he was pulled to take the _Ark Royal_ out of service.

"You won't hear an argument from me. From what I've heard it's safe to say morale in the Fleet has plummeted," Killian said as the pair rounded the corner and headed towards the airlock that connected the _Ark Royal_ to the Lampetia Shipyard's Docking Ring 8.

That was then they saw the airlock. Above its entrance in bold red letters were the words _Ark Royal _BS-50, along with two of the Marines who stood guard at the entrance to make sure that only authorized personnel were allowed to board the battlestar.

"Is that Commander Ortiz?" Killian asked when he saw the woman standing off to the side talking to a group of reporters.

"I believe so," Charka said and after excusing himself, he made his way over to the reporters.

"Commander Ortiz," he said when he got within earshot of her.

She turned around and while he thought she was surprised to see him she did not miss a beat, "Commander Charka, it's a pleasure to see you."

"You as well," he said and then he leaned over to her ear, "Can we have a word in private?"

She turned to the reporters, "You'll have to excuse me. Commander Charka needs a moment of my time."

As they walked into the airlock towards the _Ark Royal_ she turned to him, "I owe you for that one, I thought they'd never shut up with their questions."

Charka smiled. "I had the impression you had gotten tired of it."

"I was going to simply leave after the Change of Command ceremony but I was asked to stay behind and give interviews and put the right spin on what had happened," Ortiz said though she seemed none too happy about it.

"What happened to you and your XO was terrible. The two of you got screwed and the Colonial Fleet didn't even call you the next morning."

In spite of it, Ortiz laughed, "Don't worry, they may not have called but they sent me roses when they realized how bad things looked."

Charka raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"I've been promised command of the _Kronus_. It'll be nice having a big Stryker-class battlestar to command."

The two stepped onto the now empty hangar deck, the cavernous deck now had no Vipers or Raptors. The air wing had flown off when they had reached Lampetia and were now flying to Picon where they would await their futures. The inactivation process had yet to be completed; Charka had decided to wait until the many civilians who had requested a last tour of _Ark Royal_ were off. Over the course of the next six months, the ship would be deactivated and sealed up for storage until it was either reactivated for service or sold to a scrap yard. If it ended up on Active Reserve it would be fine, if it went on Inactive Reserve it was a gamble as to what the future would hold. Inactive Reserve ships were the ones that were picked over for parts to keep the active ships running. Usually the Inactive ships were picked over clean and then sold for scrap.

"What's your XO going to do?" Charka asked. He had yet to hear what was going to happen to Colonel Yesinia Hawkins.

"She got assigned to Vaught-Hemingway on Caprica, the planet's home for her so she's not too upset about it. She's here on the _Ark _until the civilians are off and they begin the inactivation," Ortiz said.

"Are you going home before you make your way to the _Kronus_?"

She shrugged, "I've thought about going home to Libran to visit my family. What about you?"

"I plan to go do some deep sea fishing on Picon with my family once I finish up with the _Ark_; by then the _Hood_ should be ready for outfitting."

"Sorry, I never pegged you for a guy who likes to fish."

"Something I picked up from my father, whenever I come back from a deployment I take my boat out and just unwind."

Ortiz was going to say something to Charka but she did not get the chance to get the words out as there was a large explosion and both were thrown hard to the deck. The _Ark Royal_ trembled as though it were the toy of some giant.

Charka was shaky as he got up to his feet. He saw Ortiz lying unconscious on the deck. He reached down to check for a pulse and found she still had one. He wanted to get her medical attention but he knew his place was in the CIC. He quickly bounded down the corridor to make it to the CIC, hopefully to make sense of the confusion.

**CIC: **

"Sitrep!" Charka called out when he came into the CIC.

"Our DRADIS has detected a Cylon baseship within range of us," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler said before adding, "_The Royal Oak, Valhalla, Invincible, __Swiftsure__, __Asteria_, and _Orion_ are reporting direct hits from the Cylons."

"That's all the battlestars here besides us," Charka said quietly before his mind came up with a solution, "Colonel Chandler, I want you to plot a jump to the Taussig Nebula."

"I can have that plotted for you momentarily," Chandler said as he began inputting the coordinates into the computer.

"Sound the boarding alert; I want to get as many people onboard as possible before you disengage us from the airlock. When everyone's onboard then get us as far away from here as we can," Charka said knowing that he was going to leave people behind to die. He could only hope that as many people got on the _Ark Royal_ as humanly possible.

In a single movement, the boarding alarm began to sound, alerting the people in the area that the airlock was about to close so the _Ark Royal_ could disengage. There was a rush as people made their way onto the battlestar, the deafening sounds of missiles hitting the shipyard's docking ring doing enough to spur people to board. One of the Marines picked up the receiver that connected directly to the CIC and announced that all the people in the area had boarded the battlestar. In less than a minute, the two Marines had boarded the ship and the airlock doors slammed shut. The battlestar quickly moved from the docking ring as a missile from the baseship hit the spot where it had been moored moments ago.

"Sir, there is a message coming in from the escort battlestars _Kridan_ and _Amari_," Woodward called out.

"What is it?"

"They have launched Vipers being piloted by cadets along with Raptors; they want to know if they can land on us."

"Tell them that's an affirmative; send word to Chief Lancaster to prepare to receive the Vipers and Raptors."

"Aye sir, sending the message now," Woodward said.

"Commander, the _Swiftsure_ and _Asteria_ have been destroyed. _Royal Oak_ and _Invincible_ have reportedly lost power…the _Orion_ and _Valhalla_ have also lost power as well along with their air wings," Chandler reported.

"As soon as those Vipers and Raptors have boarded we jump to the Taussig Nebula," Charka said.

"The _Kridan_ and _Amari_ have put themselves between us and the baseship and are taking heavy damage."

Charka thought about it and it dawned on him that they were sacrificing themselves to buy the _Ark Royal_ more time. The _Kridan_ and _Amari_ were _Orianos_-class escort battlestars and could not hope to survive long against the Cylons.

"We have incoming missiles heading straight for us," Chandler called out.

"Are the cadets onboard?"

"Yes sir, the last one landed a moment ago," Chandler said.

"Make the jump!" Charka called out.

In a flash, the _Ark Royal_ disappeared before the missiles could strike.

**Taussig Nebula: **

"Jump complete," Chandler called out.

"Are you picking up any traffic?" Charka asked.

"There's a lot of jumbled communications out there," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward said as he scanned over the messages that were being relayed from various vessels.

"Sir, there are six ships making their way towards us," Chandler announced.

"Friendly?"

The Tactical Officer shook his head, "Yes sir, they appear to be a group of civilian vessels with an Aerilon registry."

"Anymore coming our way?" Charka asked.

"There's a passenger liner from the Sharpe Line, the _Cambrian_, and their wireless operator tells me they're making their way here and to please not leave."

"Is that all?"

"Yes sir, it would appear to be all of them," Chandler said.

"Very well, Mr. Woodward, I want you to send a message to the ships to follow us into the Taussig Nebula. They are to maintain wireless silence until we order otherwise."

**Thirty-Seven Minutes Later:**

The ships they had come across when they had initially jumped to the Taussig Nebula surrounded the _Ark Royal_. Besides the luxury liner_ Cambrian_, the civilian ships_ Egeria, Patroclus, Basaran, Laysan Island, Cape Johnson, _and _Hermitage _now joined the battlestar. They were a mix of ships ranging from a food transport to a tylium refining ship. They had managed to meet up with the _Edenton_ class heavy cruisers _Illumini_ and _Hadrian_.

"Send word to the captains of those ships we'll have a Raptor…" Charka said and then realized that they had no real air wing and the cadets probably had not yet learned about piloting in a nebula, "Send word that we will have a video conference in ten minutes to discuss our situation."

**Ten Minutes Later: **

_**Ark Royal**_**, War Room: **

On the screen were Captains Joyce Powell, Avery Walters, Jermaine Ballard, Simone Fitzpatrick, Leif Dawson, Gregg Barrett, and Christina Jensen.

"Why is it that we're having to video conference instead of just meeting on your ship?" Dawson asked before any others could say a word.

"I regret to inform you that we were about to begin the process of inactivating the _Ark Royal_. When the decommissioning ceremony was held, the air wing flew off and headed to Picon for reassignment. As of this moment, we currently do not have a proper air wing," Charka said.

"What do you mean by that?" Jensen asked.

"We have cadets who landed their Vipers and Raptors onboard but they're too green to be put into a combat situation just yet. Our original air wing was sent away when we held the decommissioning ceremony. We still have our equipment to manufacture Vipers and we intend to start on that shortly. Our guns still work and we have ammunition for them so we can still defend ourselves against the Cylons."

"What do you plan on doing about getting enough pilots to get your ship's air wing up to full strength?" Fitzpatrick asked.

"That's where I need your help," Charka said as he scanned a report that had come in, "As of now all former members of the Colonial Defense Forces have been recalled to active duty. If there is anyone on your ships who served in the Colonial Fleet, inform them that they need to report to my ship as soon as they can. Perhaps from there we can put together an air wing of some sort."

_**Ark Royal**_**, Hangar Deck: **

John Penn, Thomas Stone, George Clymer, Arthur Middleton, James O'Hara, Joseph Hewes, and Brian Emerson stepped off the transport shuttle and onto the Hangar Deck of the _Ark Royal_. They had been serving as deckhands on the _Cambrian _when they had heard the call for all former Colonial Fleet personnel to report to the shuttle bay for transport to the _Ark Royal_.

"Looks like we're among the last ones here," Penn said.

"I tell you, I never thought I'd be back on one of these," O'Hara said as he looked around the hangar of the Illustrious-class battlestar.

"I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be back on one of these," Clymer said.

"Truthfully, I'd rather take my chances here on this battlestar than I would on the _Cambrian_," Stone said as he scanned the crowd that was not too far from where the shuttle had landed.

"If someone had told me this morning that I would be called back to duty and then be assigned to a battlestar I'd have told that person they had gone absolutely mad!" Hewes declared followed by a rueful laugh.

"I at least did a few months one of her sister ships before I got sent packing," Stone said.

"Really, and which one would that be?" Penn asked.

"I was part of the Deck Division on the _Illustrious_ before I left the Fleet," Stone said.

"What about those people milling about over there in the other hangar bay?" Hewes asked.

"They look young enough to be cadets, wonder if they were here on some sort of training cruise," Penn said.

"Then you have the people in our group over there," Clymer said as he turned his gaze to the group of people who had found out not too long ago that they had been returned to active duty in the Colonial Fleet.

"Let's go join them and see what lies in store for us," Penn said as he started walking with the rest of the group following.

"That's the last of the people we found on the ships," Ortiz said as she checked off the list of people who had been sent over from the various ships.

**Hangar Deck, Upper Level:**

"How many is that?" Charka asked. Both he and Ortiz, who was shaken from the initial attack but had been given a clean bill of health, were standing on the upper level of the hangar deck looking at the group of people who would make up the air wing.

"That's going to give us about fifty-three people. I got a report stating that there were volunteers on the ships who wanted to come over," Ortiz said before turning to face Charka, "Are you sure this is the right idea?"

"We need pilots and at least this group has spent time in the military. Before we take any volunteers we need to build a core group of pilots, are there any former officers in that group?"

Ortiz looked down the list, "That's a negative; we have a group of former enlisted people on our hands."

"I hope they don't mind the fact that they're due to become officers."

"Just how do you plan on doing that?"

"We do it on a case by case basis; we'll see what information we can get on their time in the service and go from there. We can assign ranks and see how it pans out, but for now, we need to turn these people into pilots. Who do you have for instructors?"

"I know Colonel Hawkins was a Raptor pilot so she can help with that. We have group of pilots in place with Captains Alisa Stark, Aaron Rice, and Keith Lloyd, along with Lieutenants Donovan Stanley, Shawn Porter, Walter Kidd, Olivia Fox, Marisa Patterson, and Cheryl Clayton. They were pilots who happened to be in our area of the docking ring when the missiles hit. We were fortunate that they were able to get onboard before we closed those airlock doors."

"Those pilots are going to form our group of trainers; I want both you and Colonel Hawkins to take the lead on this one. The pilots will answer to the two of you when it comes to how we train these people."

"What about the civilians?" Ortiz asked as she broached the subject that they had not yet discussed.

"I want them disbursed to the civilian ships, right now a warship is not the place they need to be," Charka said as he checked his watch.

"What are you thinking?" Ortiz asked.

"We are sitting ducks here right now, we have no viable air wing and if we can't get those cadets and enlisted people trained to fly then it's just a matter of waiting for the Cylons to find us and finish us off."

"I'm going to go meet with our new crewmembers, in the meantime go to the CIC and stay on top of things until I get done here. It's important that we keep the crew busy so they don't dwell too much on what's happening. When we're somewhere safe we may have a chance to reflect on lost loved ones," Charka said, and after a nod, Ortiz walked through the hatch and down the corridor.

Charka had given the order for the people to assemble in formation and he began to inspect the assembly. He noticed one old man who held in his hands a gold-plated cane with a lion's head at the top of it.

"You sure you need to be here?" Charka asked him.

"All former military personnel were reactivated and I assumed it to be me as well," the old man, who looked to be in his mid sixties, said.

"I think you'll find they might have made an exception for you."

"Even if they had I'd have been here to offer my assistance."

"No offense, but I don't see how you can help me."

"I saw combat during the Cylon War as a Viper pilot. I can teach Viper techniques and put my combat experience to use."

"Tell me this, why should I allow you to stay on here and help with Viper training?"

"Because if you don't then we'll all be killed before you can turn these people into decent pilots."

Charka thought about it and asked, "Who are you and where did you last serve as a pilot?"

"My name is Lloyd Thomas and I was a pilot on the Battlestar _Achilles_ during the Battle of Cosmora."

"You're hired," Charka said. The man was more than qualified to help teach Viper techniques. When he was done with this group, he would look more into the past of Thomas.

There was a ladder nearby that would have been used to help the pilots out of their Vipers, Charka stood up on it and got the attention of the crowd.

"My name is Commander Caden Charka and you are on the Battlestar _Ark Royal_. Not too long ago, the life we knew was turned on its head. We are currently hiding here in the Taussig Nebula but it will not be long until we jump to a new location where, hopefully, we can avoid the Cylons long enough for all of you to finish training to become Viper and Raptor pilots. It is my intention to turn this group I see into an air wing for this battlestar. Those who are cadets will finish your training and those who were just brought back into the Colonial Fleet will also undergo pilot training and when it is done you will be both pilots and officers onboard this battlestar. You are now going to find your rack here on this ship and will make yourself at home. I advise you to shower and get some sleep because you will need it if you are to survive the training that lies ahead for you." With that said Charka dismounted the ladder and made his way to the CIC. There was still much work that lay ahead for them if they were going to avoid being destroyed by the Cylons.

**Commanding Officer's Quarters:**

Charka walked into his quarters and let out a deep sigh. This was nothing like he had imagined it would be. He was supposed to be overseeing the inactivation of the _Ark Royal_ but now he found himself in command of a battlestar in a time of war with an air group that was one in name only. He took off his uniform jacket and set it on a nearby table before sitting down at the desk.

Charka began looking up information on the formerly retired Colonel Lloyd Thomas, if this man what he said he was then it was important to find out exactly what his experience was. When his eyes saw Thomas' call sign they promptly stopped cold, Black Devil." Charka thought, "Wait a minute Black Devil…I've heard that call sign somewhere before."

As Charka read more about Thomas and his career in the Colonial Fleet, he learned that Fleet Admiral Stryker gave the call sign of Black Devil to him because of the black pitchfork that Thomas had painted on the tail of his Viper. It was also mentioned in the report that Thomas was Stryker's favorite pilots. The report had pictures of Thomas after he had finished his rehabilitation at Jermaine Tanner Medical Center in Queenstown on Picon. He saw pictures of Thomas with both Jonas and Elizabeth Stryker. In one of the photos, Elizabeth Stryker was presenting Thomas with an item that Charka realized he had seen when he met the retired pilot on the hangar deck. The gold-plated cane was give from Elizabeth Stryker after Thomas had finished his treatment for the injury to his right leg that he had suffered at the Battle of Glennon.

**Lloyd Thomas' Quarters: **

'Commander Charka knows how to show his respect,' Lloyd Thomas said to himself as he eased onto the bed and laid back. Earlier in the day, he was on a pleasure cruise and now he was recalled to active duty and assigned as a Viper Tactics instructor, the same job he held at Abry Military Academy.

The Picon native had come a long way since his younger days when he was piloting Vipers and trying to keep the Cylons from destroying humanity. His mind began to go back to one of the major battles he had been in, the Battle of Cosmora. He had been assigned command of Viper Squadron Four of the Battlestar _Achilles_. His Viper had been one of the reserves that had been held back by order of Commander Dominic Rigel, the CO of the _Achilles,_ and he was onboard when the Cylons boarded the battlestar. When the Achilles appeared to have possibly been lost, his squadron was launched immediately, along with the Raptors that were still onboard.

Out in space he had just taken out a Cylon Raider when he saw the _Achilles_ jump away, in an instant before he thought he saw the battlestar's air being vented out into space. It was then that he realized the ship had been lost and Commander Rigel had done one last act to protect the Colonial forces that were engaged in the battle.

Five year later, he would find himself on the sidelines on a more permanent basis. He had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and been made the CAG of the Battlestar _Gemenon_. It happened at the Battle of Glennon, eleven days before Operation Raptor Talon. One of the rookie pilots was in pursuit of a Raider and was so focused on his pursuit that he did not notice a Viper in time and ultimately rammed into it. Thomas was the pilot of that Viper and the damage his leg was so severe that there was talk of a possible amputation. Thankfully, that was not needed but it made sure that he would never fly again.

When the war was over Admiral Jonas Stryker came to the aid of one of his favorite pilots. He called in various favors and got Thomas a classroom job at Abry Military Academy teaching Viper Tactics to the cadets before they actually got into the cockpit.

He could not complain though; he had a chance to make a difference. It was an opportunity he had not had since before he was given a retirement package from Abry. Now he was in a shooting war and even though he could not fly a Viper, he could pass on the knowledge he had obtained over the years to make sure that the pilots on the _Ark Royal_ would stand a fighting chance against the Cylons.

'Damn it feels good to be back in the game!' he thought to himself as he allowed sleep to take hold of him.

**Three Hours Later:**

**Hangar Bay One: **

Ortiz, Hawkins, and the pilots who would serve as trainers stepped up onto the podium that had been erected by the deck gang for this occasion, altogether there were now around two hundred and fifty pilots. They were a mix of the cadets from the _Kridan_ and the _Amari_, the enlisted personnel who had passed the physical and were allowed to enter pilot training, as well as civilians who had volunteered to join.

"Stop the chatter and listen up!" Ortiz called out and she waited until she had their attention before she continued, "You are all here for various reasons. Some of you were in training to become pilots in the Colonial Fleet, some of you are former enlisted who have been approved to train to become pilots along with these cadets, and the rest of you are civilians who have volunteered to join us in our fight against the Cylons."

She stopped and saw that they were all waiting for what she would say next, "Behind me are your instructors. My top lieutenant, Colonel Yesinia Hawkins, will help me with overseeing your development. Reporting to both us are Captains Alisa Stark, Aaron Rice, and Keith Lloyd; Lieutenants Donovan Stanley, Shawn Porter, Walter Kidd, Olivia Fox, Marisa Patterson, and Cheryl Clayton. They will train you to become pilots for the Vipers and Raptors that you see here on this hangar deck. When your training is complete, I can guarantee that you will become pilots and officers that will do justice to the Colonial Fleet. Find your racks and get some rest, in the morning you're going to need it."

She watched as the crowd dispersed to head to their assigned berthing compartments. They had potential, she had to admit, and it was just a matter of putting them through the paces and turning them into the pilots the _Ark Royal_ so desperately needed. As she stepped away from the podium, she thought of the _Ark'_s motto: _Desire Does Not Rest_.

**Wardroom: **

Charka looked at the table of his assembled senior staff. The only thing that was missing was a CAG but that was to be expected when there was no functioning air wing.

"I've done some research and have come up with a plan," Charka said and tried to gauge the reactions of his officers before continuing, "We received a message from Commander William Adama of the _Galactica_ ordering all Colonial units to rendezvous with him at Ragnar Anchorage."

"Are we heading there now?" Colonel Patrick Killian asked.

"Yes but we are going to stay a good distance away. The heavy cruisers each have a small hangar with facilities for five Raptors. I have tasked the Raptors on the cruiser _Hadrian _to scout ahead for us. The last thing we want is to alert the Cylons to our presence; right now, we are simply unable to mount a credible defense against the toasters."

"What do we do if the Cylons are there at Ragnar?" Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler asked.

"I've asked Lieutenant Woodward to search the map of the Cyrannus System for places we can hide and we've identified a large nebula near the Red Line. It straddles the Nevis and Haran Sectors in the Southwest section of the system.

"When do we jump?" Ortiz asked.

"We leave within the hour, the sooner we find out if Adama and the _Galactica_ are at Ragnar the sooner we can plan for how we'll survive against the Cylons,' Charka said as he dismissed the staff.

"Commander Ortiz, how do the prospective pilots look?"

"I think they have potential. It will be nice for the _Ark _to have a properly functioning air wing again."

"Yes it will. When you think about it, we're going to need them and the Raptors if we hope to survive this."

"I have no doubt about that, I'll have them ready to fly whenever the Cylons do find us," Ortiz said.

"It's just a matter of finding where we can hide at…any suggestions?" Charka asked.

"You're serious on this one?" she asked, stunned that at a time like this the man who relieved her as CO would ask for her help.

"I have some ideas but it never hurts to get a second opinion, besides you're a Commander as well."

She thought about it, "You might want to consider the Mjollnir System, we can hide in the upper atmosphere of the star and there's an anchorage there that we can use to get the weapons we need."

"That's not a bad idea, I had thought about Nassau where that station is but I think the Cylons may have already hit it," Charka said.

"It would make sense to me; it seems they hit whatever military installations they knew of."

"What about the two heavy cruisers and our civilians?" Woodward asked.

"I'm going to have them jump to Mjollnir where they should stay hidden until we're done. I'm going to have the _Illumini_ and the _Hadrian _guard them, however I'm going to have one of the Raptors from the _Hadrian_ join us to scout ahead for us," Charka said as he mentally checked his plan to make sure it seemed sound before adding, "Let's get to the CIC and get moving, if we have a chance to catch up with the _Galactica _we don't want to miss it."

**CIC: **

"Lieutenant Wade, what's the latest?" Charka asked when he walked to Command and Control where Lieutenant Carmella Wade was standing as Officer of the Watch.

"Lots of traffic has come in from the Fleet and none of it looks promising, it seems the Cylons are able to deactivate battlestars at will."

"Do you think it could be something with the computer systems?" Ortiz asked.

"It's a possibility, but it shouldn't affect our systems because the ship had its network taken offline because of the inactivation," Chandler said after looking over the reports that Wade had handed over.

"Fortunate for us," Charka said before adding, "Colonel Chandler I want you to plot a jump to Ragnar. We'll make the jump as soon as we have the Raptor from the _Hadrian_ onboard. Send word to the cruisers and the civilian ships that they are to jump to Mjollnir and wait there for us."

"Commander, I've sent your orders to all ships. The Hadrian reports that their pilot, Lieutenant Ashlee Wyatt, and her ECO…Ensign Cathryn Perez have left the ship and will be here within a few minutes," Woodward announced.

"Commander we'll have the jump plotted momentarily," Chandler said as both he and Wade began to work on plotting the jump.

"Looks like things are getting interesting around here," she said.

"I think we're already past the 'interesting' part, I just want to get us out of harm's way until we have an air wing again. Until we have that we're at the mercy of the Cylons."

Ortiz nodded her head thoughtfully, "Without its air wing a battlestar is just as vulnerable as the old warstars were when it comes to battle."

The warstars were heavily armored citadels in space with rail gun turrets that were designed to unleash their firepower on both enemies in space as well as bombard planetary surfaces. Their fatal flaw was that they were vulnerable to the swift maneuvering of the Cylon Raiders, this led to their being phased out in favor of the battlestars as the new type vessels were brought into service.

"If we're lucky the _Galactica_ will be there and we shouldn't have to worry too much about not having an air wing. Not to mention we can take the ammo and supplies from Mjollnir to bulk up the ammo for our guns," Charka said.

"The idea of a battlestar jumping into battle without having its Vipers is asking for trouble," Ortiz pressed.

"Since you seem so determine to prove to me that this is a bad idea, what would you suggest?"

"We have the cruisers and civilian ships make the jump to Mjollnir and that should help to hide them while we jump to Ragnar. If the Cylons are there then we jump away before we're detected."

"Sounds like a plan, I think that might actually work," Charka had to admit it was nice to have more of an idea as to how their plan was shaping up.

"The Raptor from the _Hadrian_ has landed and is now in the hangar," Chandler reported.

"The ships are reporting that they are ready to make the jump to Mjollnir," Woodward said.

"Have them make the jump," Charka ordered and soon came the report that the small group of civilian vessels and the two heavy cruisers had jumped away.

"Now that that's done let's get ready to head to Ragnar," he said as he looked up and saw the contacts disappear from the DRADIS screen. With luck the _Ark _would meet up with them once they had discovered what the situation was like at Ragnar Anchorage.

"Commander, I have the jump plotted," Chandler called out moments later and when both Ortiz and Charka looked at him his face took on a look of embarrassment as though he had just created an awkward situation.

"Commence jump," Charka said and moments later the _Ark Royal_ made the jump to Mjollnir Anchorage.


	2. Chapter 2: On Borrowed Time

**Chapter Two: On Borrowed Time**

**Ragnar Anchorage: **

"Jump is complete," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler announced.

"Helm, take us in closer," Commander Caden Charka said as he looked up at the DRADIS screen above the Command and Control Station.

"I'm curious as to what we're going to find," Commander Audra Ortiz, the former CO of the _Ark Royal,_ said.

"As am I, Ortiz. But first, let's see what the Raptor finds before we make our way there," Charka said.

"Commander, I have received word that Lieutenant Wyatt and Ensign Perez are ready to depart," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward announced.

Lieutenant Ashlee 'Blondie' Wyatt and Ensign Catherine 'Party Girl' Perez were from the heavy cruiser _Hadrian _and had been selected to accompany the _Ark Royal_ for this mission.

Hangar Deck:

"Specialist Simmons, is our Raptor still in good shape?" Lieutenant Wyatt asked.

"Yes, Lieutenant, the diagnostic showed no problems. It's ready to fly whenever you are," Aviation Specialist Kelli Simmons said as she moved her equipment away from the Raptor.

"Great work, Specialist," Ensign Perez said.

"Thank you," Simmons said and walked away.

The problem the hangar crew had was not that there was a shortage of an air wing. The problem was that there were no pilots certified to fly combat operations, partly because the Ark Royal's air wing of Vipers and Raptors had flown off after the decommissioning ceremony.

"Alright, Cat, ready to see what's over there at Ragnar?" Wyatt asked as she boarded the Raptor and got in the pilot's seat.

"You know it. Ash," Perez said as she got in and took her seat at the ECO station.

**Olesia System: **

**Heavy Cruiser**_** Illumini**_**: **

"Commander, I am picking up two groups. One is civilian and other is…Cylon," Lieutenant Allison Knox announced.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Colonel Boone, I would like to have a word with you," Commander Demarcus Huffman said as he moved to a part of the CIC where he and his XO could talk.

"What's on your mind, Commander?" Colonel Virgil Boone asked.

Huffman looked back to the DRADIS, "There's about two hours until that Cylon force should be in range of that group of civilians. I think I can get in close enough to let them jump away with the _Hadrian_ and our ships."

"What about our ship?"

"I'm not great at being noble and all, but we'll provide a diversion and go down swinging."

"With all due respect, Commander, we shouldn't consign every person on this ship to certain death."

Huffman nodded, "I agree with you. That is why we will offload most of the crew and all available supplies over to the _Hadrian_. When you meet up with the _Ark Royal_ you and the crew can transfer over there to bulk up there crew."

"I get the impression there's no changing your mind," Boone said.

"You are correct, Colonel; now get to work on carrying out my orders. The more time we debate this, the more likely the Cylons may get to those ships before we can."

"I'll make it happen," Boone said and immediately started contacting Chief Ortega to get the deck gang up and moving.

"Ms. Harrington, I want you to get me in touch with Commander Lott right away," Huffman said to Lieutenant Elizabeth Harrington, the on-duty Communications Officer.

"Aye sir, contacting the _Hadrian_ now," she said.

Commander Colton Lott was the CO of the _Hadrian,_ the _Illumini's_ sister ship, and a younger officer than he was.

He had graduated from Abry Military Academy the year after the Cylon War ended and he was a few years away from retirement.

The memories of growing up during the war had stayed with him and a part of him wanted to go out this way instead of waiting for the toasters to hunt him and his ship down and do it.

**One hour and Thirty-Nine Minutes Later: **

"Commander, the last of the crew and supplies has been transferred over to the _Hadrian_," Petty Officer Kevin Romero said.

"Excellent," Huffman said before looking up at the DRADIS screen.

The Cylons were closer now to the civilians.

Ortega's deck gang had transferred the supplies to the _Hadrian_ faster than he had expected and the Raptor pilots had worked hard with ferrying the crew over to the cruiser. Now there was just a small group of volunteers on the cruiser.

"Helm, take us in close to the civilian ships," he ordered and immediately the petty officer at the helm complied with the order and began maneuvering the_ Illumini_ closer to the ships.

"P.O. Ross, transmit the message and coordinates to the Mjolnir Anchorage."

"Sending the message and coordinates now," Petty Officer Daphne Ross said.

"Commander, the Cylon baseship is closing in on the civilian ships," Ensign Marcus Berg said from Tactical.

"Sir, the ships are almost ready to jump. They need more time to spool up their FTL drives," Ross reported and waited for the reply to send to the ships.

"Tell them that we'll buy them whatever time they need," Huffman said before turning his attention to Berg, "Mr. Berg, target that baseship with our main and secondary guns."

"Firing guns now," Berg said and within seconds, the sound of the main guns firing reverberated throughout the ship.

"Helm, get us between the Cylons and those ships."

"Getting us into position," Romero responded.

The CIC shook as missiles from the baseship found their marks on the hull.

The Edenton class heavy cruiser shuddered but persisted in firing its main and secondary weapons at the baseship.

"Most of the ships are jumping away and the baseship is launching Raiders," Berg reported.

"Let's get our flak guns firing," Huffman ordered.

The ship began to shake violently as the Raiders launched their missiles.

Combined with the baseship's arsenal it was starting to wear the ship down.

"Sir, the last ship has jumped away," Berg announced.

Huffman was going to say something but a large explosion near the CIC threw everyone to the deck.

He lay there wanting to get up but found that his legs were no longer working as they should.

There was no going back for him and the _Illumini_.

He lay there and made peace with the gods knowing that soon he would be in the afterlife with his family.

He was reciting a prayer when an explosion caused a fireball to rip through the CIC, killing everyone in it.

Moments later the back of the_ Illumini_ was broken and the ship destroyed by the Cylons.

Its death had not been for naught, as it had allowed the other ships to escape to safety.

**Ragnar Anchorage: **

"All right, Party Girl, you know what to do," Wyatt said as their Raptor came within range of Ragnar.

"Working my magic now, Blondie," Perez said as she started scanning the area with her DRADIS to see what was out there.

"_Ark Royal_ can you hear me?" Wyatt said through the wireless receiver in her helmet.

"This is Actual. Have you picked anything up on your DRADIS?"

"We're scanning now," she said.

"Let us know what you find," Charka said and he waited as patiently as he could for the results.

This time Perez joined the conversation, "Commander, we have three Cylon baseships guarding the entrance to the anchorage."

"Come back to us. Good work out there."

**CIC: **

"What are you thinking?" Ortiz asked.

"We should get out of here; we're not in a position to take on three baseships. There's no telling if there's any more out there," Charka said.

"We still have our heavy weaponry; we might be able to damage a couple of them."

"What is the point of risking this ship when it's nowhere close to being able to fight?"

"I'd rather give the Cylons a bloody nose instead of running away," Ortiz said.

"That's the advantage of this situation; you don't have to make that kind of decision. When we get the pilots ready to fight then we can do something against the Cylons. Right now though it's best that we lay low and pray the toasters don't come across us."

As much as she wanted to argue the point but she knew it was going to be pointless. She had, in fact, been relieved of command; the _Ark_ was no longer her ship, "Very well then, Commander."

Charka decided not to give the response that jumped to his mind.

The only problem was that Ortiz made the term 'Commander' sound as though it was a substitute for a less-than-flattering term.

**Berthing Compartment Three-Eight-Six: **

Cadets Julius Raven, Johan Monssen, Charles Bigelow, and Ansgar Meyer were sitting at the table in their berthing quarters playing a game of Triad with a deck of cards that had been left behind by a member of the _Ark Royal's_ last air wing.

"I'm still wrapping my head around everything that's happened," Meyer said as he dealt out another hand.

"We're on the _Amari_ thinking it's going to be a boring training cruise, and then the Cylons have to come in and make things interesting," Raven said.

"For what it's worth, at least we got ourselves an upgrade," Bigelow said.

"Going from an _Orianos_ to an _Illustrious_ is one hell of an upgrade, it's like we got moved from coach to first class," Meyer commented as he looked over his cards.

Monssen added, "After all that time on the _Amari_ it takes some adjustments to being on a frontline battlestar."

"It was only until we finished our training; we can't all be like Jennings and have our father get us a posting on the _Victorious_," Raven said.

The comment drew a round of laughter from the four cadets.

Senior Cadet Jessica Jennings, daughter of Rear Admiral John Jennings, was the valedictorian of the senior class at the Colonial Fleet Academy.

Her father had secured for her a temporary posting on the _Victorious_ that would become permanent once the battlestar came back from its deployment.

There was also a rumor she was in a relationship with a Major in the Ministry of Intelligence but no one could ever prove it. If it were true it would help her career.

"You can't say Jess didn't earn it," Bigelow said.

He was a Picon native like Jennings and the two had become friends during their four years at the Academy.

"I wonder how the cadets from Abry and Aquaria are doing," Meyer said.

"I don't know, I suppose we'll find out whenever we begin our flight qualifications," Monssen said.

"Oh yeah, I think we're going to be put on the fast track for becoming pilots. There is a war going on right now," Raven said, which managed to cause a more somber mood to come over the room.

"Yeah, we still don't know how many those frakking toasters killed," Bigelow said in disgust as he threw his cards down.

"What the hell Bigs," Raven exclaimed.

"Sorry, Rave, I lost my desire to play Triad. I'm going to get some rack time; I think tomorrow we're going to need it," Bigelow said as he left the table to go to the showers.

"Looks like the game's over. I'm going to call it a night," Meyer said as he went to lie down in his rack.

"Well Mon it's down to me and you," Raven said as he looked at the hand he was holding.

"We'll finish this game another time, it's hard to play a game like this when you're reminded that the Cylons wiped out everyone you knew," Monssen said as he left the table.

"In that case, I will have to go to the Mess and get some food before I call it a night," Raven said as he tossed his cards on the table.

He had hoped that a friendly Triad game would be enough to keep his mind away from what had happened and how close he came to dying.

Right now, it looked as if that would not happen any time soon.

**Seventeen Minutes Later, Junior Officer's Mess: **

The closest mess hall to his berthing compartment was the Junior Officer's Mess; it seemed the rules were somewhat relaxed these days.

The cadets were practically junior officers by this point.

Raven got his food and sat down at a table that was unoccupied.

He was hoping that he could be left alone with his thoughts and his food.

There were other people sitting down, some of whom he figured were probably fellow cadets.

"You're one of the Fleet Academy cadets aren't you?" a man asked as he strode over from his table and took a seat across from Raven.

"Who are you?" he asked the stranger who had intruded upon his table.

"Trent Donovan, I'm with the Aquaria cadets seated over there," Donovan said as he motioned with his thumb towards a table where a group of five cadets were seated.

"You're all Vols?" Raven asked. The Aquaria Military Academy Volunteers had a fierce rivalry with the Fleet Academy Midshipmen and the Abry Military Academy Black Knights.

"Damn right we're Vols," Donovan said before he motioned for one of them to come over to the table, "Let me introduce you to my classmate. Allow me to introduce you to Joshua Tanner."

"Glad to meet you, now I would like to enjoy my food in peace," Raven said hoping it would get the two Aquaria cadets to go back to their table.

"Hey, Raven, who are your friends?" Academy cadet Antwan Ward asked. Fellow cadets Alvaro Montoya, Lester Haywood, Luther Williams, Nathan Pierce, and Octavio Howard followed him into the room.

"So much for enjoying that food in peace, eh Raven?" Donovan asked.

Raven looked at Donovan, "I'm not interested in continuing this whole academy rivalry thing we have going on."

"Is that right? Well I think I should let you in on a little secret," Donovan said as he moved closer to where Raven sat.

"What exactly would that be?"

"I think a little rivalry is something we need," Donovan said as he sent Raven flying backwards with a solid right-hand punch.

The punch had the desired effect as the Aquarian cadets and the Academy cadets began to exchange punches.

It was not long before the Abry cadets, who had tried to stay out of it, found themselves part of the meleé.

It was a brawl that one would have seen in a movie with chairs, punches, and occasionally people being thrown.

**Commanding Officer's Quarters: **

"Commander Charka, I think you made a mistake today," Ortiz protested.

She and Charka were the only two in the room and the air between them had an icy chill to it.

"As I stated earlier, the last thing I want to do is risk this ship and its crew," Charka said evenly.

"I don't think we should die in a blaze of glory, but this crew needs a boost to its morale, and getting in a few punches against the Cylons would have served the purpose nicely, in my opinion."

"Ortiz, you need to see things from my point of view. If you cannot, then you should be reminded that you are the one in charge of turning those cadets and enlisted crew into officers who know how to pilot a Viper or a Raptor. Then we can get some of those hits in against the Cylons you seem so hell bent on delivering."

The hatch to the room opened and in walked Privates Marla Galloway and Preston Brooks.

"Marines, I hope the two of you have a good reason for barging in here?" Ortiz asked, and immediately regretted it because she knew it might cause Charka to look bad.

"I have to agree with Commander Ortiz on this one; why are you here?" Charka asked.

"There's been a fight in the Junior Officers Mess," Galloway said.

"So a couple of officers get into a fight and that's a reason to barge into here like this?" Charka asked.

"No, sir, but when a group of cadets from each of the military academies get into a fight…

**Ten Minutes Later:**

**Junior Officers Mess: **

"What the frak is going on?" Charka asked once he and Ortiz reached the entrance to the Junior Officers Mess.

"It's a madhouse in there," Colonel Patrick Killian said once he could speak to his Commanding Officer above the noise of the fight.

"You could say that again," Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas said as he came to the door.

"What are you doing here?" Colonel Yesinia Hawkins asked as she came up from the opposite side of the corridor.

"I heard there was a fight among our three groups of cadets. I had to see it to believe it," Thomas said.

Charka turned his attention to the two Marines, "I want you to get as many Marines here as possible. Take the cadets to the Secondary Storage Bay; we'll have a little chat with them then."

It was then that some of the fight's participants spilled out into the corridor. One of the cadets swung and connected with Charka's jaw, sending the _Ark Royal_'s CO back against the bulkhead behind him.

Another of the cadets swung at Thomas but he deftly dodged the blow and brought his gold-plated cane down on the young man's head.

"Don't even think about it," Ortiz said as she connected a left hook against the jaw of a cadet who made eye contact with her and seemed ready to pull her into the fray.

Before things got further out of hand, the Marines showed up and began to break up the fight.

One by one, the cadets were led out of the mess and toward the Secondary Storage Bay.

"If it weren't for the fact that the Cylons are trying to slaughter us I'd throw them out the nearest airlock," Charka said as he massaged his jaw where he had been punched.

"Under normal circumstances I'd do the same thing but right now we need them," Ortiz said as she surveyed the damage that had been done to the Junior Officers Mess.

"Action Stations, Action Stations, Set Condition One throughout the ship," Chandler's voice announced, followed by the claxons coming to life to alert the crew that it was now time for the _Ark Royal_ to go to Action Stations.

"Frak me, that can't be good," Ortiz said.

"I'd prefer to get some good news for a change today," Charka said before turning his attention to Thomas and the Marines, "Get this group to Secondary Storage. Colonel Thomas, I want you to put the fear of the gods into them."

Thomas simply nodded his understanding and motioned for the Marines to begin leading the group from the Junior Officers Mess towards Secondary Storage.

"I'm coming with you," Ortiz said as she caught up to Charka down the corridor.

"I had a feeling you were going to do that," he said without a trace of irritation.

"Listen, I know this is hard for you but it's not exactly a day at Caprica Beach for me either."

"I understand that but I don't need you to step on my toes and try to act as though you're still the CO of this ship."

"I'll try not to but I've been in command of the _Ark_ long enough that old habits are proving hard to get rid of."

Charka nodded, "You can come with me to the CIC but keep in mind what I said."

"Fair enough," Ortiz said as she two made their way up to the deck above.

Thomas turned to where Galloway was standing, "I want you to get the Master-At-Arms to round up every cadet we have and bring them to Secondary Storage. I'm going to make sure something like this only happens in a boxing ring."

Galloway nodded and ran off to get Sergeant Trinidad.

Thomas would not go to Secondary Storage right away. He had an idea and to make it work he would need the aid of the ship's media department.

**Twelve Minutes Later, CIC: **

Charka and Ortiz came into the CIC and immediately made their way over to Command and Control.

"Sitrep," Charka said.

"We have an unknown DRADIS contact that is closing in on us," Colonel Yesinia Hawkins said as she pointed to the object on the DRADIS screen above them.

"Where's Colonel Hawkins?" Ortiz asked.

"He may have gotten turned around. How long have you been here Hawkins?" Charka asked.

"I was heading to the print shop when I heard the call for Action Stations, I got here and thought I could fill in until either you or Colonel Killian arrived," she said.

"Thank you for that," Charka said as he kept his attention on the DRADIS object.

The doors to the CIC opened and in walked Killian.

"Glad you could make it, Colonel," Charka said.

"It took some time to get out of the Junior Officers Mess. What do we have going on?" he asked.

"Unknown DRADIS contact, they seem to be keeping their distance from us," Charka said as he began to wonder what the object was that they had come across.

"May I suggest we launch alert Vipers," Ortiz said before she realized that _Ark Royal_ was still without an air wing.

"Mister Woodward, I want you to get in touch with our Viper pilots in Ready Room One. I need volunteers for a recon mission," Charka said to his Communications Officer, Lieutenant Dwight Woodward.

"Aye aye, Commander," he said as he began the task given to him.

**Viper Squadron One Ready Room: **

"I volunteer," Lieutenant Walter 'Thor' Kidd said when the word had been passed that Commander Charka needed volunteers for the recon mission.

"That's one, in that case suit up and meet me on the hangar deck. I'm going to fly with you," Captain Alisa 'Dagger' Stark said.

She was the one who had answered the call from the CIC and had taken on the role of de facto CAG of the _Ark Royal_.

"I think we should all go out there; what if it's the Cylons?" Lieutenant Shawn Porter asked.

"All the more reason for only two of them to go out there," Captain Aaron Rice said.

"He's right. If the Cylons are out there then there's no reason to risk all of our lives when we're going to need to train these incoming nuggets and turn them into real pilots. We'll go out there and check it out. In the meantime I'm leaving Lloyd in charge until I return," Stark said as she made her way over to the equipment locker.

"Do you think we'll find a flight suit that's going to fit?" Kidd asked.

"We may not find an exact fit but hopefully there's one that's close enough," Stark said.

"Sounds like a plan to me, didn't think I'd be flying in a situation like this," Kidd said as he found a flight suit that seemed to be close to his size.

"Going by the flight suit your last name is 'Raguet' and mine is 'Hilliard," Stark said once she and Kidd were in their flight suits.

"Poor bastards, it's ironic that they flew off following the decommissioning and were killed by the Cylons and we just happened to be near the _Ark Royal_'s berth when the attack happened," Kidd said as he began to ponder the fate of the pilots whose flight suits he and Stark were using.

"Luck of the draw, I guess," Stark said.

From the time the pilots had spent getting to know each other she had learned that Kidd had been a pilot on the _Swiftsure_ while she had been a pilot on the_ Invincible_.

"I suppose, but it does make you feel fortunate," Kidd said as he finished zipping up his flight suit.

"Let's not dwell on that right now, let's get to the hangar and get this recon mission underway," Stark said as she headed for the hatch.

**Hangar Deck, Port Side: **

"We've taken two of the Viper Mark VIs the cadets flew onboard during the attack and have both of them prepped for you to use," Chief Reginald Lancaster said when he saw Stark and Kidd step onto the hangar deck.

"Glad to hear it, Chief," Stark said.

"Were they damaged by the Raiders during the attack?" Kidd asked.

"No, sir, they were able to land without any serious damage. My people have been scouring them for problems and I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with them," Lancaster said as he directed them to the two Vipers that had been maneuvered to the entrances of two of the launch tubes.

"Let's get in these birds and see what's out there," Stark said to Kidd.

He simply nodded and started climbing the stairs that had been placed in front of the Viper he would be flying.

Moments later the two Vipers were maneuvered into their launch tubes and sent out to investigate the DRADIS contact.

**Secondary Storage: **

There was a video display set up. The machine was designed to project the image or video on the computer that had been placed near where Thomas was standing.

Before him, below the platform area that led to the airlock, were the pilots who had landed on _Ark Royal_ during the Cylon attack.

They were cadets from the three major military academies in the Twelve Colonies; Abry Military Academy on Caprica, the Colonial Fleet Academy on Picon, and Aquaria Military Academy on Aquaria. The rivalry between the three schools had always been strong, some even saying that the some of the officers in the Fleet had to work hard to put those differences aside.

"What the frak are we doing here?" Abry cadet Virgil Kramer asked the person next to him.

"I heard there was some brawl today between some of the cadets, whoever that guy standing up there ordered everyone here, regardless if they were in the fight or not," fellow Abry cadet Raquel Douglas said.

"Do they even know who threw the first punch?" Fleet Academy cadet Clarissa Lane asked.

"From what I heard, it was one of us. If that's true then your schools are off the hook," Aquaria cadet Cynthia Torres

"With all that chaos there I don't think there's going to be a way to prove who threw the first punch," Aquaria cadet Julie Beck said.

On the other side of the room were the cadets who were involved in the fight, they had not been allowed to mingle with their fellow cadets.

The Marines who had come to break up the fight were standing near in case they would be needed again. The looks on their faces did not betray the anger they had for the brawlers.

"You know, in hindsight I should have probably not slugged you," Trent Donovan said to Julius Raven when he was in earshot.

"I think it's a bit late for that now; those Marines look like they want to tear us a new one."

Donovan was going to say something but there was a loud pounding sound on the deck as Lloyd Thomas pounded his cane to get everyone's attention.

"Now that I have you here and have your complete attention," he began as he surveyed the room, "There was a disturbance today in the Junior Officers Mess, so I decided to bring you here for little chat."

"Who are you?" one of the cadets called out.

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas, during the Cylon War I was known as 'The Black Devil' and you've probably heard of me. If you haven't then you can just think of me as a pilot on par with that Caprican jackass Gary Ware, only better and more humble."

Since that seemed to discourage more talk from the cadets he continued, "I was stationed on the Battlestar _Gemenon_ near the end of the war. My ship was part of the two-ship Libran class and there was a healthy rivalry between our two ships. When we had the chance, we competed against one another to see which one was better. The point is that when it came time to fight the Cylons we put our differences aside and put the energy that we used to fight each other into fighting the Cylons."

"What does that have to do with anything?" another cadet asked.

"Before I go further with this talk, I want to show you some videos I discovered when I visited the ship's media center," Thomas said as he hit a switch that dimmed the lights.

He fished a remote out of his pocket and turned on the video projector. It came to life and shone a white light onto the large screen that was erected behind Thomas.

"For you Abry cadets, I would like for you to see how your campus looked the last time someone pointed a camera in its direction," Thomas said as he hit the 'Play' button on the remote.

Immediately the students were looking at video footage showing not a pristine campus but a group of burned out ruins that once made up some of the buildings of Abry Military Academy.

"From the vague reports that we received before the news services went silent it appears that Abry was specifically targeted for destruction. The Cylons made sure a nuclear weapon hit the campus and it was one with such power that it leveled almost everything at your school," Thomas said as he scanned the group and saw that the Abry cadets were clearly emotional at seeing their school in such a state, many were failing to hold back the tears.

"Now, I want to take you to Picon and to the Colonial Fleet Academy," Thomas said as he hit the 'Next' button on the remote.

The screen changed and there was a destruction shown that matched what had been visited upon Abry Military Academy.

"Because it was situated right across from Fleet Headquarters, it was only natural that the Fleet Academy would take a direct hit from the Cylons. I've watched the footage already and it is a nightmarish landscape down there on Picon."

He looked and saw many of the Fleet Academy cadets were having a reaction similar to what he saw from the Abry cadets.

"Now it's time for the grand finale. I am going to take you to Aquaria and you can see what happened to Aquaria Military Academy," Thomas said as he once again pressed the 'Next' button on the remote.

Aquaria Military Academy was untouched, the Aquaria cadets looked both a little surprised and relieved. It was then that Thomas pressed the 'Next' button again and this time the cadets were shown an image of just a flash as he said, "The camera didn't move. It is the same camera over Aquaria Military. We don't have an image of the Aquaria campus after the nukes hit it but by judging by the size of that flash, it was completely flattened. I am guessing that the Cylons hit it several times to make sure it had been obliterated. If anything was left standing then it is scorched and would be virtually unrecognizable."

Thomas paused to let his word sink in before continuing, "My point in showing this to you is simple. It is to remind you who the real enemies are. You should remember that it is the Cylons you should be fighting and not each other. The academies you were so loyal to, no longer exist; the rivalries are, for the time being, swept away into the dustbin of history. If this ship and its crew are to survive then all of you will have to learn to play nice together and become the pilots we all hope you can become.

**Viper 2593 (Captain Alisa Stark): **

"Captain Stark, this is Raptor 586, Commander Charka sent us to follow you to the DRADIS contact."

"Glad to have you with us Raptor 586, who are you?" Stark asked.

"Lieutenant Ashlee Wyatt, call sign 'Blondie', my ECO and I came over from the _Hadrian_."

"Glad to have you with us," Stark said before focusing on the DRADIS contact that was looming closer on the screen in her cockpit.

"Dagger, this is Actual, I need you to visually confirm that the target is an Orianos class escort battlestar," Commander Charka's voice said over the wireless in Stark's helmet.

"We should be coming up on the target shortly and can verify," Stark said as she saw the profile of what looked to be an Orianos class vessel.

"This is the Escort Battlestar _Vasa_, identify yourselves or be shot," a man's voice said over the wireless.

"This is Captain Alisa Stark from the Battlestar _Ark Royal_, transmitting IFF to you for verification."

Moments later she heard a woman's voice, "Captain Stark, this is Commander Elina Solheim, you can either return to your ship or stop and give me a ride over to the _Ark Royal_."

Stark thought for a moment before she said, "Kidd and Wyatt, I'm informing Commander Charka that we'll be landing on the _Vasa_ and will return with Commander Solheim."

"Copy that," Kidd said.

"Understood," Wyatt replied.

"_Vasa_ Actual, this is Captain Stark, my people and I am ready for landing," she said to Solheim.

"You are cleared to land on the port landing pod. I look forward to meeting you. Actual out," Solheim said as she ended the connection.

"_Ark Royal,_ this is Dagger," she said once she set her wireless to the frequency that the _Ark_ would be using.

"Dagger, this is Actual. Did you confirm the identity of the ship?" Charka asked.

"Affirmative, it is the _Vasa_ and Commander Solheim wishes to speak with you in person. We're going to be landing and then Commander Wyatt will bring her over with us."

"Very well, I'll see you when you are back on board," Charka said and then the line went dead.

"_Vasa,_ this is Viper 2593 preparing to land on your port flight pod," she said to the LSO stationed in the port side Air Traffic Control center.

In a few minutes, she would know for sure what awaited her on the escort battlestar.

**Eleven Minutes Later: **

_**Vasa,**_** Hangar Deck: **

Stark's Viper was maneuvered into a spot on the hangar deck not far from where Kidd's Viper and Wyatt's Raptor had been parked.

She had seen the hangar of an Orianos class escort battlestar before but the _Vasa_ looked as though it had the modern touches she had come to expect on either of the Mercury or Illustrious class.

"Kidd, I'm over here!" Stark called out when Kidd exited his Viper.

"This is not what I expected," Wyatt said when she joined the two Viper pilots.

"The Vasa is a unique ship, but that's a topic for later," a man in a Colonel uniform said when he walked up to the three pilots, "Colonel Morten Varberg, I'm the _Vasa_'s XO. Commander Solheim is waiting for you in the CIC. If you'd follow me," he said as he turned and started towards a hatch that led away from the hangar deck.

"You'll have to forgive me for bringing this up again, but this is not how an Orianos class ship normally looks. There's more of an older Cylon War feel to the ships that are still in service," Wyatt said as the group caught up to Varberg.

"I take it you served on one before?" he asked.

"I did a tour on the _Lysander_ as an Ensign," she said.

"It goes back to when President Adar first took office," Varberg began, "He wanted to decrease the number of battlestars in the fleet; he saw them as an unnecessary luxury. His Secretary of the Fleet had the idea that the surviving Orianos class ships would be ideal as a smaller battlestar that could keep the Admiralty happy," Varberg said as he turned a corner and headed down another corridor.

"What happened to that plan?" Kidd asked.

"Well _Vasa_ had been sitting in the Active Reserve since the Cylon War ended and it was decided to use her for the experiment Adar had in mind. She was taken out of Active Reserve and towed to Lampetia Shipyard where she was renovated as part of a program to determine the effort needed to reactivate and modernize the mothballed Orianos battlestars. By Junius of the following year, after over 8.5 million cubits had been spent to modernize her and bring her up to operational condition again, the project was cancelled once the work had been completed."

"That's impressive," Stark said.

Varberg nodded, "She came out a brand-new ship for all intents and purposes, and she's stayed in service because President Adar was determined to get his cubit's worth out of her. We were assigned to the Fifteenth Fleet until recently; the _Vasa_ even took part in the bombardment of that Sagittaron Liberation Army base six years ago."

_**Vasa**_**, CIC: **

The group entered the CIC to find the crew busy at work carrying out their various duties; it had the feel of a ship that was at war. The room was gave the appearance of a slightly smaller Mercury class CIC.

"Glad you could make it," Solheim said from where she was standing at Command and Control with one of the officers.

"We got here as quickly as we could," Stark said as she followed Saballe to where Solheim was standing.

"For a moment there we thought your battlestar might have been a Cylon baseship," Solheim admitted to Stark.

"We thought likewise," Stark said though she was not sure if that was really the case or not.

"It's nice to find a friendly face though. Did you see if Adama was still at Ragnar?" Varberg asked.

"Commander Charka sent my ECO and me to Ragnar Anchorage to investigate, and there was no sign of the _Galactica_ but plenty of signs of the Cylons," Wyatt said.

"Commander, the _Ark Royal_'s commander wishes to speak with you," the Communications officer announced.

"Thank you, Mister Morello," Solheim said as she picked up the receiver, "This is _Vasa_ Actual."

"This is _Ark Royal_ Actual. Good to hear a friendly voice. I wasn't sure if it was really you or a Cylon ruse."

"I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, seeing as how your ship had been decommissioned just a few days ago," she said and wondered what Charka's reaction would be.

"Right now, the Cylons may be moving this way so may I suggest we jump to another location. We can meet up and swap survival stories."

Solheim thought about it for a moment and realized it was a good idea, "Send the jump coordinates to us and we'll meet you at the location."

"Sending them to you now; see you there, Commander Solheim," Charka said before ending the call.

"I have received the jump coordinates from the _Ark Royal_. I am plotting the jump now," the Tactical officer said.

"Very well then, jump the ship as soon as possible," Solheim said as she began to wonder what shape the _Ark Royal_ was in. She noticed that the flight suits Stark and Kidd wore did not match their names. Wyatt's flight suit did match up with her name but her patch was for the heavy cruiser _Hadrian_.

'Does Charka even have an air wing?' she wondered.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"Mister Chandler, is the jump plotted?" Charka asked.

"Yes, sir, I can start the countdown on your order," Chandler said.

"You may begin the countdown," Charka said as he looked over the information that had been brought up on the _Vasa_.

"Still thinking it's too good to be true?" Ortiz asked.

"There's a part of me that can't help but be skeptical about it, but at this point I will not look a well-armed horse in the mouth."

"I understand that. Let's hope that Solheim is willing to stay with us and not strike out on her own," Ortiz said as she brought up the profile on _Vasa_'s CO.

"I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be. I'll just convince her that we're more likely to survive by working together than we would be going our separate ways."

"Not to mention that there's a chance her air wing can provide us with protection until we get our own pilots trained," Ortiz said as she looked up at the DRADIS and saw the _Vasa_ disappear off the screen.

"That's what I'm hoping for, it'll be something we'll need if we're going to survive," Charka said.

"Indeed we will; here's to hoping it all goes according to plan," Ortiz said as she began to wonder if they even had a plan to survive against the Cylons.


	3. Chapter 3: Dangerous Road

**Chapter Three: Dangerous Road**

**Mjolnir Anchorage:**

The Battlestar _Ark Royal_ and the Escort Battlestar _Vasa_ jumped into the orbit of the gas giant Mjolnir. In the upper portion of the star's atmosphere was the anchorage built after the end of the Cylon War.

"Commander, I'm receiving a report from the cruiser _Hadrian_. It and the civilian ships have arrived and set up positions around the anchorage," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward announced.

"Excellent; send word to Chief Lancaster to have his deck gang ready to board the anchorage and begin loading supplies and munitions," Commander Caden Charka ordered and was pleased to see Woodward immediately do as he had been ordered.

"What do you plan on doing while that's going on?" Commander Audra Ortiz asked.

"I'm going to have a meeting with the _Vasa_'s CO and find out how they managed to survive."

"In that case who do you plan to leave in command?"

"Commander Ortiz, if I leave you in command, will I have to worry about getting my ship back when I return?" Charka asked, though it came out as a poorly attempted joke.

"That depends on how long you're gone, though it would be nice to have my ship back again."

"The funny part is that this stopped being your ship the moment I came onboard to relieve you of command. You just might want to remember that."

"Duly noted, in that case I'll be content to hold the fort down while you're away," Ortiz said as she turned to head back to Command and Control.

"Commander, Chief Lancaster says that he will have a team ready to board the anchorage as soon as possible," Woodward said.

"Excellent, inform Commander Solheim that I will need a Raptor sent over so that I can have a meeting with her on her ship."

**Forty-Two Minutes Later: **

**Escort Battlestar **_**Vasa**_**, Hangar Deck: **

The Raptor was moved to its location in the port hangar bay and the pilot promptly powered down the craft. Charka stepped onto the hangar deck and for a moment had to remind himself that he was on a Cylon War era ship. The _Vasa_ looked every bit like a modern battlestar built to a smaller scale.

"Takes some getting used to," an officer said as he walked up to where Charka stood.

"Yes, it does."

When the officer came close enough, he came to attention and snapped a salute. "Captain Mark Hunter."

Charka returned the salute, "Commander Caden Charka. I see you've earned your Viper wings, what's your call sign?"

Hunter relaxed, "They call me Archangel."

"Pleased to meet you, Archangel; did Commander Solheim send you to meet me?"

"Yes sir, she asked me to escort you to her office," Hunter said as he motioned towards a nearby hatch.

"Your patch says you're a part of the _Atlantia_'s crew, how did you end up here?"

"Major Andre Graystone, my squadron commander, recommended me for a test the _Vasa_ was assigned to take part in. There's a new model Viper that's been developed and I was one of the test pilots selected to take part in it."

"Sounds like a job most would enjoy. I knew one of the test pilots who was stationed on Sagittaron at the Cian Testing Range."

Hunter's interest was piqued. "Who would that be?"

"Major James Brannigan. He was a Captain when I knew him, but he was one of the more highly-regarded pilots there at the testing range."

"There was a part of me that wouldn't have minded a posting there. Sagittaron has always held a special place in my heart."

"Brannigan said he didn't mind it too much there. The problems came when the locals found out he was from Caprica City. He told me that one woman once said the problems with the Capricans were that 'They're overpaid, over-sexed, and over here!'"

Hunter laughed, "I've gotten that impression from the times I've been there."

"Makes me glad I'm not a Caprican. I have to admit that Sagittaron does have a certain charm to it that sets it apart from the other eleven colonies."

"Commander Charka, I'm glad you could make it here so promptly," Commander Elina Solheim said as she greeted the two officers, "I'm moving our meeting to my office, no need for us to take up the wardroom."

_**Vasa**_**, Commanding Officer's Office: **

"I admit I was wondering if we were going to find any other survivors out there," Solheim said as she took a drink of water from her glass. She was tall and looked to be in her mid forties with her blonde hair showing few signs of graying.

"We found a few but it looks as though the Cylons were thorough," Charka said and he observed Hunter nodding in agreement.

"If you don't me asking, how did you and the _Ark Royal_ manage to escape?"

"I tell you my story and you can tell me yours," Charka said immediately. He was curious how the _Vasa_ had managed to escape destruction.

Solheim nodded her head. "Fair enough."

"The _Ark Royal_ had been officially decommissioned, but not inactivated yet. The air wing had already flown off to Atherstone Fleet Air Station on Leonis to await reassignment. Once the ship had docked at Lampetia it became my job was to oversee the _Ark_'s inactivation and prep her for storage. That was when the Cylons attacked. I alerted the people by our airlock that we were about to disconnect from the shipyard and to board immediately. When that was done, we tried to get as far from the Cylons as we could. With no air wing and little ammunition, we were a big sitting target."

"So you jumped away before the Cylons could attack?"

"They were concerned with the other battlestars there at the shipyard. While they were occupied with them, there were two escort battlestars on a training cruise and the commanders of those two ships had their cadets launch their Vipers and Raptors with orders to land on the _Ark_. They put their ships between us and the Cylons and essentially sacrificed themselves so we could escape."

Hunter spoke up. "This means you have an air wing of nothing but cadets?"

"The seven pilots who were near the airlock at Lampetia managed to get onboard. They're going to have to train those pilots so we can have an air wing that won't be destroyed the moment it engages the Cylons."

"Commander Solheim, I'd like to volunteer to transfer to the _Ark Royal_," Hunter volunteered.

"Normally I'd decline that but in this case…what do you think, Commander Charka?"

"He was apparently a good enough pilot to be posted to the _Atlantia_ and earn the respect of his squadron commander. In all honesty, I believe we could use a CAG on the_ Ark_."

"In that case, Captain Hunter, you are hereby transferred to the _Ark Royal_," Solheim said before adding, "My last act as your Commanding Officer will be to promote you to the rank of Major."

"Commander Solheim, thank you," Hunter said with the shock at the promotion evident in his voice.

"She's right; you need a rank that will establish you as the most senior pilot onboard. Grab your gear and head to the Raptor that's taking us back to the _Ark_. Good to have you onboard, Major," Charka said.

"Thank you," Hunter said before leaving the room.

"With that out of the way, how do you propose we handle overall command?" Solheim asked.

"I have the _Ark_ and probably more seniority," Charka said.

"I have an actual air wing at my disposal," Solheim countered.

"How long have you been a Commander?" he asked.

"I was promoted four years ago, and you?"

"I've been a Commander for seven years now. I was recommended for flag rank but another officer was promoted instead."

Solheim was intrigued. "How long ago was what, who was promoted instead?"

"It was four years ago, and Commander Scott Tolan was promoted instead of me. It appears the man has political clout that I could only dream of."

Solheim nodded, "I know of Admiral Tolan by reputation. It seems having been born into Canceron's crime syndicate has not done much to help his image."

"Not to mention that he married into the Graystone family," Charka added.

"There is that fact as well," she said before continuing, "I take it that your ship doesn't have much of an air wing."

"That's an understatement. All we have are some of the older Viper Mark II's that the cadets were using for training purposes. We rounded up some civilian ships, and the former Colonial Fleet personnel are going to be trained along with the cadets to become Viper pilots. The problem is that I don't know how long it's going to take to get them fully trained and I have no idea how much life those old Vipers have."

"We still have our air wing along with an experimental prototype of Viper; we have two pilots onboard testing it out. Major Hunter was one of those pilots, but if you need to search for supplies or other survivors I can have my air wing land on the _Ark Royal_ while you're out there."

"If you could loan us a squadron that would help; besides Major Hunter and the small group of pilots onboard there aren't many who are able to fly in combat against the Cylons."

"I'll select the pilots and have them join you on your ship."

Charka stood up. "Thank you for that. I'll head over to the _Ark_ and get preparations underway for us to leave."

Solheim shook hands with him, "You're welcome Commander, good hunting out there."

**Twenty-Six Minutes Later:  
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_**Ark Royal**_**, Viper Squadron Room One: **

Since the Raptor and Vipers sent over to the_ Vasa_ had returned, there had been whisperings that one of the pilots from the escort battlestar had been assigned to the _Ark Royal_ to serve as its CAG. This was of interest to the pilots, most importantly to Captain Alisa Stark, and they were waiting in the Ready Room for the officer in question to enter.

"What does the scuttlebutt say?" Lieutenant Donovan Stanley asked.

"That he's one of the two test pilots over on the _Vasa_ and that he's from Sagitarron. That's about all we know so far," Lieutenant Ashlee 'Blondie' Wyatt, the Raptor pilot from the cruiser _Hadrian_, said.

"It's better than nothing I suppose. While I'm thinking about it, are you and your ECO going back over to the_ Hadrian_?" Lieutenant Marisa Patterson asked.

"I asked Commander Charka about that and he told me that for all intents and purposes this is my new assignment."

"Not too bad when you think about it. We go from being on a heavy cruiser to being on a battlestar, I think most people would consider that a promotion," said Ensign Catherine 'Party Girl' Perez, Wyatt's Raptor ECO, as she stretched in her chair and let out a contented sigh.

"She never was too fond of being on the _Hadrian_," Wyatt said.

"It was too cramped on there for my liking, it was as though the Raptors and their facilities were some kind of afterthought," Perez offered.

"The crazy thing is that a battlestar this size without an air group just feels wrong," Lieutenant Shawn Porter said before adding, "This whole section of the ship just feels so empty without any pilots around."

"Believe me; I know what you mean," Captain Aaron Rice said before adding, "The other ready rooms are as empty as this one and the only difference between this one and those is that we've started using this one since we got onboard."

"That was a rush," Captain Keith Lloyd said as he reflected on their escape from Lampetia Shipyard, "We weren't even supposed to be on this ship and ours were destroyed during the attack."

"I try not to think about that one too much," Lieutenant Olivia Fox admitted, "Had the Cylons waited just a bit longer we'd have made it back to our ships and then we'd have bought it along with everyone else."

"That's why when I get out there against the toasters I'm going to make them pay for it," Lieutenant Cheryl Clayton said.

"It's not that I don't think we'll get the chance, but I'd rather have an actual squadron fighting along side me when we do take on the toasters," Lieutenant Walter Kidd said.

"Well, Kidd, you at least have the right idea," Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas said as he walked into the room, his gold-plated cane making an audible sound whenever it hit the deck.

"Colonel Thomas," Stark said as she and the other pilots stood up at the sight of the pilot known as the 'Black Devil' during the Cylon War.

"I heard the new CAG was on his way here and I wanted to be here when he arrived," Thomas said as he walked over and eased into one of the chairs.

"He's not here just yet; we're just discussing the little we heard from scuttlebutt. There's just not much to go on right now," Donovan said.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, how are the trainees coming along?" Clayton asked.

Thomas shrugged, "They're still green and it's going to take some work but eventually I'll make pilots out of those nuggets. For now they're going to get more simulator time than they thought they'd ever get before I let them near their Vipers."

"I hope they're fast learners," a man's voice said from the hatch.

The pilots turned and faced the new arrival. Thomas eventually stood up and turned to face the person.

"I'm assuming you're either the new CAG or some officer who got lost and think he's a pilot," Thomas said.

"I'm the new CAG," the man said as he walked to where the pilots had been sitting, "Major Mark Hunter, my call sign is Archangel."

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas and I'm one of the officers tasked with training our new pilots."

Hunter came to attention and saluted Thomas, "It's an honor to meet you, Colonel Thomas. We've all heard stories of your exploits in the Cylon War."

Thomas returned the salute, "Thank you, Major."

"Well, I know we'll have to get the introductions out the way…" Hunter began saying and then he saw a familiar face, "Alisa, I didn't know you were here."

"Hello, Mark, it's been a while," Stark said, "When it was mentioned the CAG was from Sagitarron I didn't think it would be you…you should have been on the _Atlantia_."

"I was one of two pilots assigned to the_ Vasa_ to test an experimental Viper design. I heard about the _Atlantia_ though."

"Yeah, we did too; lots of good pilots lost their lives. We'd have been among them if you hadn't have been assigned to the _Vasa_ and I hadn't have been reassigned to the _Invincible_."

"I know. Later on we can catch up on old times," he said.

"We can do that," she said and then took a seat.

"I knew of Colonel Thomas by reputation and I knew Captain Stark from the _Atlantia_, who are the rest of you and where were you stationed before the attack?" Hunter asked.

Kidd was the first one to speak, "Lieutenant Walter Kidd, call sign 'Thor', and I was stationed on the _Swiftsure_."

"Lieutenant Olivia Fox, call sign 'Foxy', and I was stationed on the _Royal Oak_."

"Thank you, Lieutenants," Hunter said to Kidd and Fox, "Who's next?"

"Captain Aaron Rice, call sign 'Big Red', and I was stationed on the_ Valhalla_."

"Lieutenant Cheryl Clayton, call sign 'Blaze', and I was in the same squadron as Lieutenant Kidd on the _Swiftsure_."

"Captain Keith Lloyd, call sign 'Game Show' and I was stationed on the _Asteria_."

"Lieutenant Shawn Porter, call sign 'Cavalier', and I was stationed on the _Orion_."

"Lieutenant Marisa Patterson, call sign 'Vapor', and I was also stationed on the _Royal Oak_."

"Thank you all for the introductions; starting tomorrow we'll sit down for a more formal meeting. I'm not one for speeches so you're all dismissed until 08:00 tomorrow morning," Hunter said and he watched as he pilots and Colonel Thomas leave the ready room.

Hunter took in his new surroundings and began to understand the enormity of what lay ahead for him on the _Ark Royal_. The ship needed an air wing and if the cadets could not be turned into capable pilots quickly enough then they were as good as dead.

Now that he had met his fellow pilots, it was time to go to the CIC and let Commander Charka know that he was onboard.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"I know you sent Colonel Killian to the anchorage to supervise the loading of supplies onto the ship. When that's done we'll begin preparations to jump, am I right?" Ortiz asked.

"That's right, I want to make sure we have all the weapons and supplies brought onboard before we take off, that will give about two hours for the Vipers from the _Vasa_ to land and get settled."

Ortiz nodded. "Colonel Hawkins told me that the other pilots were not too thrilled with Major Hunter's arrival."

Charka shrugged his shoulders, "It was a judgment call on my part, and it seemed he was the most qualified one for the job. The other pilots are good, don't get me wrong; but I am going to go with my instincts on this one."

"I'll go with that," she said before asking, "Where are you planning on jumping to first?"

"I want to go check out Armistice Station first and see what we find. I recall a message being sent for any FTL capable ships to jump in and check on his status so perhaps a ship jumped out there," Charka said and then he saw the skeptical look on her face, "I'm not saying it's not a shot in the dark but it's a start."

"If the Cylons were as thorough as they seem to have been when they attacked, then all we have going for us now are shots in the dark."

"Don't get too pessimistic on me," he said half jokingly.

"Not being pessimistic just looking at the situation as a realist."

"That's fine but don't let the crew become too realistic about our situation. The last thing I need is for their mindset to get to the point where they view things as being hopeless."

"Understood," Ortiz said before adding, "Since we have some downtime before we're ready to jump I'm going to the mess to get some coffee and a quick bite to eat."

Charka nodded his head, "Not a bad idea; once I leave here there's really no telling how long we'll be gone for."

The CIC doors slid open allowing for Ortiz to leave and for Hunter to step in to the room.

"Commander, I wanted to come and see you before I went to my office to get settled in," Hunter said once he had reached the Command and Control Station.

"Good to have you onboard, Major," Charka said before continuing with, "I know it's not much but with enough time you'll have an actual air group to be the CAG of."

"I understand that's going to take some time but I think the pilots we do have will make great squadron commanders when the time comes."

Charka nodded, "I like to think so, it was a miracle they were even able to get onboard when the Cylons hit us. Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather have a small group of trained Viper pilots than none at all."

"I have to agree with you on that; at least we're starting at Square One and a Half instead of Square One."

"Good way to look at that. Go get settled in and tomorrow you can get to the business of being CAG. You should be able to look at the service records of your pilots and get a better feel for them."

Hunter saluted and left the CIC to head to the CAG's Office.

**Twelve Minutes Later: **

_**Ark Royal**_**, CAG's Office: **

Hunter looked at the walls of the office and could not help but feel as though he was in an office designed by a person who felt that decorations should be 'less is more'. There were some photos of Virgon's popular sights and pictures of past ships that bore the name _Ark Royal_ but there was little else in the way of decoration.

A knock on the hatch served to bring him out of his thoughts. When he called for whoever was the hatch to enter and he was somewhat surprised to see Stark enter the room.

"Alisa, I didn't expect you to come by," Hunter said.

"I thought we needed to talk," she said as she took a nearby seat, "I know things with us haven't always been particularly pleasant, especially when I got reassigned from _Atlantia_."

"You know I had nothing to do with you getting reassigned. My father pulled whatever strings he had in the Colonial Fleet to make that happen."

"I know that, but by the time I found out, I had already built up this resentment toward you and it was something I couldn't shake."

The two had been friends since their time at the Fleet Academy and even when they originally had different assignments they had stayed close. It was when they were both assigned to the _Atlantia_ that things had become complicated. It all happened one night while on leave on Caprica the two had gone out for a visit to Club Tavares in Caprica City. When the night had ended, they had gone to the upscale Lansdowne Hotel where she fell asleep on the sofa in the suite Hunter had was staying in. There was no sex between the two of them. In truth, it was nothing that would have caused any trouble if it had not been for the fact that one of their fellow squad mates had seen her and Hunter leaving the hotel together the next morning. Their squadron leader, Major Graystone, had frowned upon the fact that two of his pilots being rumored to be on such intimate terms and before either of them knew it she had been reassigned to the battlestar_ Eagle_ for one deployment before her assignment to the battlestar _Invincible_.

"I tried to contact you on the _Invincible_ and even left messages with your parents on Gemenon."

"I got them, but I really did not want to talk to you. All I could think about was how unfair it was that I was the one who was reassigned and you were allowed to stay on the _Atlantia_. You understood how much it meant to me to be a pilot on the Fleet's flagship."

"I know but did you think about what it would mean if you hadn't have been transferred to the _Invincible_? You'd have probably died at Virgon with the rest of the squadron," Hunter said and he saw her hazel eyes show a mix of sadness and anger.

"Well, Mark it's not like we're in less danger now. I was in your shoes until not too long ago and it is scary knowing that you are the CAG of a small group of pilots and if the Cylons attack you can't even put up a token fighting force. It's like we're facing certain death and are only delaying the inevitable."

"It'd be different if I were some kind of superhero who could swipe the Cylons away with a sweep of my arm but the truth is that we have a chance for survival. As bad as it may seem we are still in this fight and when the time is right we'll get some payback for our friends and loved ones we lost."

Stark tried to stifle a laugh and failed. "Trying to picture you doing some sort of superhero act is actually kind of funny."

"I suppose it is. In all seriousness, we're going to be fine and I would like to think that we could put the past on the _Atlantia_ behind us. It's not going to help us survive the Cylons."

There was a pause but finally Stark nodded, "I suppose I can do that, it may take some time but I promise I'll try."

"Great! Now if you don't mind helping me," Hunter said as he picked up the personnel folders of the other pilots, "I could use some help with feedback on the rest of our air group."

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

Charka picked up the receiver, "This is Actual."

"Commander, we're preparing to start loading supplies onto the ship," Colonel Patrick Killian said.

"Glad to hear it. I'm hoping there's enough to fully arm the ship again."

"You won't be disappointed. There's weaponry for the ship's guns, the Vipers, and the Marines that we can load up. I also discovered that there was a stash of MREs that we can use if our food situation ever becomes desperate."

Charka laughed, "As long as they didn't expire decades ago we should be in good shape."

"I think we'll be fine. It should take us two hours to load all of this onto the ship. Distributing it to where it needs to go may be a different story."

"At least once they're onboard we can jump away. We'll worry about distributing it later on, I'm eager to see what we find at Armistice Station."

"I'll have Chief Lancaster's deck gang proceed with the loading as soon as we're done talking."

"In that case I'll see you in the CIC once the supplies are loaded."

**Two Hours, Seventeen Minutes Later:  
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_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"All supplies are now sitting on the starboard hangar deck," Killian said once he had entered the CIC.

"Excellent work, XO," Charka said as he picked up the receiver, "Mister Woodward, I want you to connect me to the CAG's office."

"This is the CAG," Hunter's voice said over the receiver.

"We're about to jump to the Armistice Station, can you and another pilot launch when we get there?"

"Yes sir, Captain Stark is here with me now and we can suit up and be ready to launch in little to no time."

"Excellent," Charka said before he put the receiver back into its cradle.

"I take it we're about to jump," Ortiz commented.

"The supplies are onboard so I think it's time we jump from here and see what we can find."

"Let's see what's out there," Ortiz said.

Five Minutes Later:

Armistice Station, Colonial Side of the Armistice Line:

The _Ark Royal_ jumped into the area that had once been home to Armistice Station.

"Why can't we see the station on our DRADIS?" Charka asked.

"It's odd, I can confirm the location of Armistice Station but it's not showing up. It may not even be there," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler said from the Tactical station.

"Send word to Chief Lancaster, I want Major Hunter and Captain Stark's Vipers launched."

"Sending the message now sir," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward said.

Charka looked up at the DRADIS screen and moments later two blips showed on the screen marking the two Vipers that had launched. He put the radio chatter through the loudspeakers so that the people in the CIC could hear what the two pilots were saying.

"Dagger, do you see what I see?" Hunter asked.

"I'm afraid so, Archangel; someone blew this place to pieces," Stark responded.

"I guess that answers one of our questions," Ortiz said.

"I don't get it," Killian said before adding, "Why go through the trouble of destroying Armistice Station?"

"Probably trying to help us out by getting rid of something that wasn't needed anymore," Charka deadpanned.

"We at least put it to use, not our fault those soulless frakkers didn't think so highly of it," Killian said.

"Something tells me the Cylons never had an interest in keeping the peace," Ortiz said.

"We have a DRADIS contact, appears to be something off in the distance," Hunter said over the radio.

"I see it on my screen, let's go investigate," Stark said.

"You read my mind," Hunter said and the radio chatter went quiet.

"What do you think they found?" Ortiz asked.

"Whatever it is, I'm just hoping that it's friendly," Charka said and he saw Killian nod in agreement.

"We're close enough to the contact and…it's a battlestar!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Gods, it's nice to finally catch a break," Ortiz said quietly.

"How come they haven't tried hailing us yet?" Killian asked.

Charka picked up the receiver, "This is Actual, is the battlestar operational?"

"That's a negative sir, the ship appears to have no power," Hunter said.

"Can you identify what ship it is?" Charka asked.

"We're attempting that now; we may need a Raptor here with its search light," Stark said.

"I want the two of you to stay there, we'll have a Raptor coming your way soon," Charka said before turning his attention to Woodward, "I want our Raptor pilot awake and flying as soon as possible."

**Berthing Compartment 02-B: **

The hatch to the berthing compartment opened and in stepped Colonel Yesinia Hawkins. She saw that most of the racks were empty except for four that had the privacy curtains pulled closed. She pulled each one apart until she found the two people she was looking for.

"Wyatt and Perez, your Raptor is needed," she said as she woke the pilot and ECO up.

"I was just dreaming I was on Caprica Beach," Wyatt said as she tried to wake herself up.

"Speak for yourself, I was alone on an island with a handsome guy from the Ministry of Intelligence," Perez said.

"Forget about your dreams, we found a battlestar out there and we need your Raptor's searchlight to identify which one it is."

"We could go for some coffee, or at least I could," Wyatt said.

Hawkins pulled out a bottle of stimulant pills, "You'll have to take these, but Commander Charka has promised that you will get all the rack time you could ask for whenever this is over with."

Begrudgingly the two took the stims so that they could fly their Raptor without being a danger to themselves and the two Viper pilots flying around the hulk of the battlestar.

"Chief Lancaster is prepping your Raptor for launch as we speak so good luck out there and we'll see the two of you when you return," Hawkins said before opening the hatch to leave the compartment.

"I think when we return we should strongly recommend to Commander Charka that he get a few more Raptor pilots from either the _Vasa _or the _Hadrian_. I swear this going to wear us out even more than we already are," Wyatt said as she changed into her flight suit. She was starting to feel the effects of the stimulants on her body; the fatigue she was feeling was starting to lift now. She was feeling more awake and alert than she had when Hawkins had awakened her. The only problem would come later when the stims wore off, it would be one hell of a crash.

"You won't hear any complaints from me," Perez said as she finished getting into her flight suit. In a matter of minutes, the pair would be on their way to the hangar deck where their Raptor awaited them.

**Thirteen Minutes Later: **

**Armistice Station Coordinates: **

"Archangel, this is Blondie," Wyatt said as the Raptor came in closer to where the hulk was showing up on the DRADIS.

"Blondie, this is Archangel. We are holding our position above the hulk," Hunter's voice said over the wireless.

"Copy that, we are getting in position to sweep the hulk with our searchlight," Wyatt said and with a motion to Perez the Raptor's searchlight came to life and bathed the hulk in its brilliant light.

Hunter got in position and began using the combat camera of his Viper to get video image of the hulk's hull as the searchlight ran over its surface.

"We're on the port side of the hull," he said to Wyatt, "Let's spend more time on ship's name once we get to it, I want to make sure I bring back clear footage to the _Ark Royal_."

"Understood," Wyatt said as she took in the sight of the hull that her Raptor was passing. It looked surprisingly undamaged; she wondered how the battlestar could be so lifeless and yet show no signs of battle. If it lost power then did that mean that the crew could still be inside, and if they were then were they still alive? She quickly tried to banish the thoughts out of her mind. The last thing she needed was something that would remind her of the horror movies she grew up watching. It was one thing when it was something on a television screen but the idea of something more real did not appeal to her.

"The ship's nameplate should be coming up soon," Hunter said.

"I'm slowing down," Wyatt said as she began to slow down the Raptor's acceleration. In the periphery of her sight, she saw a large letter begin to appear. It was the letter 'S', and at the sight of it she took the Raptor's speed down quite a bit more so that it was moving at a crawl.

"Are you getting this on film?" Perez asked Hunter.

"Yes I am, keep your light steady and we should be fine," he said as he saw the next letter come into view, it was the letter 'O'.

The next letter began to come into focus; it was an I.

"It's an 'ios'," Perez joked.

"Let's see what's next," Wyatt said and then she saw the next letter, K.

"That's the last letter," Hunter said before adding, "It's the _Kios_."

"I think that ship was commissioned not too long ago," Stoke said.

"I have the information here," Perez said as she read her computer screen, "It's a sister ship of the _Ark Royal _and had recently finished its trials."

"Mark these coordinates and we'll see what Commander Charka wants to do," Hunter said as he turned his Viper back toward the _Ark Royal_. They had managed to find the _Ark_'s sister ship. The outside, or at least the part they had seen, looked as good as new, but there was no telling about shape of the interior.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"An entire battlestar, that could be useful," Ortiz commented.

"We won't know more until we get a chance to do a full inspection of both the hull and the interior. They only saw a small fragment of the ship," Charka said.

"I think we can land a group of Marines and knuckle draggers to do a proper inspection," Killian suggested.

"We can stand by and let them do that, I don't see it being too much of a problem," Ortiz said.

"I have an idea that I believe will work. Once our pilots are back onboard, we'll jump back to Mjolnir. I want to get our supplies put away before we proceed any further, I doubt the battlestar is going anywhere," Charka said.

"What about the search for survivors?" Killian asked.

"I'm going to have the _Hadrian_ take that over, if we're going to deploy any of the _Ark_'s personnel to the _Kios_ I don't want to be too far away if things go south."

"We could probably have the _Vasa_ take over at the _Kios_ if there's a reason to be concerned," Ortiz said.

Charka shook his head, "I want the _Vasa_ at Mjolnir keeping the civilians safe."

"Sir, the Vipers and Raptor have landed and have been brought down to the hangar deck," Chandler announced.

"Excellent, I want a countdown begun to our next FTL jump."

A minute later, the _Ark Royal_ vanished from Armistice Station.

**Mjolnir Anchorage: **

_**Ark Royal**_**, Commanding Officer's Conference Room: **

Apart from Commander Charka, there were two other men in the room with him, one military and one civilian.

"I want to thank you both for being so prompt in coming over for this meeting," Charka said as he pressed a button that presented still images of the _Kios_' flight pod on the nearby video screen.

"When the commander of a Colonial Fleet battlestar requests my presence I am hardly in a position to say 'No'," said Captain Leif Dawson of the heavy cargo ship _Hermitage_.

"Between us and the _Vasa_ I'd say you're well-protected," Commander Colton Lott of the _Hadrian_ said.

"I do have a plan that I need help with, but first I am going to need the _Hadrian_ to search for any ships that may still be hiding from the Cylons. I am going to need the storage space of the _Hermitage_ for the other part of my plan."

"When we left Aerilon we were fully loaded, I can't exactly put my cargo anywhere," Dawson protested.

"Split your cargo between the other ships in the fleet and the anchorage. If the _Kios_ is too badly damaged to be put back into service then we will take everything of value we can so that we can keep the _Ark Royal_ and the _Vasa_ operational."

"Do you think the _Vasa_ will be able to keep the civilian ships safe?" Lott asked.

"I did some research on the _Vasa_ and it appears the ship carries more firepower than other ships of her class. It seems the Colonial Fleet put a lot of time, money, and resources in extensively modernizing the _Vasa_. It can probably hold its own against the Cylons so that the civilians can escape. That's the best we can hope for."

"I can have the _Hadrian_ ready to leave as soon as I'm back onboard," Lott said.

"Good, now how long will you need to get the _Hermitage_ ready to depart?" he asked Dawson.

"I can get in touch with other captains and see what I can offload onto their ships. We can dock with the anchorage and unload the rest, it may take a few hours but it can be done."

"That should be fine. Good hunting out there, Lott," Charka said as he shook hands with the _Hadrian_'s commanding officer.

"Thank you. Gods willing, we'll bring some friends back with us," Lott said as he turned to leave the room.

"Captain Dawson, thank you for coming with us on this mission. Believe me when I say that I wouldn't have asked for your help if it wasn't important."

"We have to work together if we're going to survive, and I'm glad you asked for my help instead of sending some Marines over to board us and take over the ship."

"For some reason I don't think that would have ended well for either of us. While I don't want to rush you, I would prefer that you get your cargo spaces emptied sooner rather than later."

Dawson nodded his understanding, "My crew and I won't keep you waiting longer than we have to."

"Excellent, in that case let me know when you're ready to depart."

Dawson stood and left the room.

**Eight Minutes Later: **

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

The watch had changed over and there were new officers at Communications and Tactical. Commander Ortiz had also left and Colonel Killian was currently Officer of the Deck.

"Ensign Ariadne, get me in touch with Commander Solheim on the _Vasa_," Charka said to Ensign Phaedra Ariadne at the Communications Station.

"Yes, sir."

"I take it the meeting went well," Killian said when Charka was close enough for him to talk without being overheard.

"It went better than I thought it would; let's be thankful for those small miracles," Charka said.

"Won't hear any argument from me; all that's left to do is to see if we can get Commander Solheim to part with a few of her Raptors."

"I doubt that will be a problem," Charka said; when he heard Ariadne say that she had Solheim on the line he picked up the phone, "Commander Solheim, I need your assistance with a project I am about to undertake.

"What project would that be?" she asked.

"I'm about to jump to Armistice Station to either salvage a battlestar or take whatever useable parts I can from it."

"I see, and where does the _Vasa_ fit into this project of yours?"

"I'm going to take one of the civilian ships, the _Hermitage_, and leave your ship to protect the leftover civilian ships until I return. The _Hadrian_ won't be able to help with that since it has been tasked with the search for survivors, and I am going to need you to part with a handful of Raptors."

"I can probably part with five Raptors if that will be sufficient for what you have in mind. That's a quarter of my Raptor squadron so keep that in mind," she said.

A part of him wanted to push for more but he felt he could get the job done with five."That will be more than enough for what I have in mind. I'll let you decide who comes over."

"That's generous of you Commander Charka. I'll notify the pilots and they should be over there within the hour."

"Perfect; thank you for this Commander Solheim and this is something that has the potential to benefit both of us."

"I'll take your word on that, _Vasa_ Actual signing off," Solheim said before severing the connection.

"Do you think she really wanted to part with five Raptors?" Killian asked.

"Probably not, it's not like either one of us can get new pilots brought onboard to replace the ones that are lost. I don't blame her for being hesitant about it; the important thing though is that she did agree to give up the five Raptors. We're going to need them to transport the Marines and knuckle draggers to the _Kios_ whenever we jump back to Armistice Station."

"Commander, the _Hadrian_ has broken away from the fleet and is moving away from the anchorage," Lieutenant Manuel Encalada announced from Tactical.

"Excellent, hopefully Commander Lott can find some more survivors to bring to us," Charka said as he watched the _Hadrian_ disappear off the DRADIS screen. In a few more hours, it would the _Ark Royal_'s turn to move away from the small fleet of survivors and head to Armistice Station.

_**Author's Note: The character of Mark 'Archangel' Hunter is the main character from the story 'Battleground Colonies' by atlantiaCAG and is being included in this story with his permission. **_


	4. Chapter 4: Boarding the Kios

**Chapter Four: Boarding the _Kios_**

**_Ark Royal_, CIC: **

"Jump completed," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler announced from his station at Tactical.

"Get Major Hunter and the other pilots launched," Commander Caden Charka ordered before turning his attention to Commander Audra Ortiz, the former Commanding Officer of the _Ark Royal_, "Commander, I want you to lead a search party and board the _Kios_."

Ortiz nodded before asking, "Do you think we'll find Cylons when we board?"

Charka shrugged. "No telling, but hopefully there won't be. You can also take Colonel Hawkins with you as well, if you'd like."

'That way if something happens to both of us then you won't have to worry about the old CO and XO anymore,' she thought rather cynically before saying, "I'd appreciate that, with enough Marines and deck gang with us we should be able to search the ship more quickly."

Charka shook his head, "You can take a few Marines but I won't authorize anything more until I know for sure that there are no Cylons on the_ Kios_."

"I'll head down to MarDet and pick the ones I want to bring over," Ortiz said as she turned and left the CIC. She was not happy with the situation but she would wait and argue the point later.

**_Ark Royal_, MarDet: **

Ortiz entered the Marine barracks section of the _Ark Royal_, known as MarDet, and immediately found the person she was looking for. Master Sergeant John Harbrecht had come onboard the _Ark_ to oversee the deactivation of the Marine Detachment. The two had spoken a few times and they were cordial towards each other in a professional sense. It was enough for her to know that if she was going to have to board a derelict battlestar then he would be one of the people she would want to have with her.

"Commander Ortiz, what can I do for you?" Harbrecht asked.

"I don't know if you've heard the news, but we've come across a derelict battlestar."

His ears perked up at the news. "Which one?"

"The _Kios;_ it's just sitting there as though someone turned off the switch and left it there."

"Should be interesting, I take it you drew the short straw for this field trip?"

"You could say that. Do you have an idea as to which Marines we should take over there with us?"

Harbrecht thought it over. "I think I have about five who should come with us. I'll have them ready on the hangar deck in an hour."

"Thanks, Sergeant. By the way, if you don't mind my mentioning it, you seem incredibly calm about the situation."

Harbrecht smiled at her, "Well, Commander, let's just say this isn't the first time I've found myself going into an unknown situation."

"One day I may have to ask you to tell me that story."

He shook his head. "I would love to, but it's classified to the point that Zeus himself may not have the clearance to know it."

"In that case, I'll leave you to your work and see you on the hangar deck in an hour."

Harbrecht nodded. "Until then, Commander."

**Viper Squadron One Ready Room: **

"The order has come through for us to provide air cover for this op," Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter said to the twenty pilots in the room.

The squadron was composed of the cadets from the two escort battlestars that had landed on the _Ark _at Lampetia. The only other pilot in the room that was not a cadet was Captain Alisa Stark.

"What's going on that's got the Commander needing us to launch?" Ensign Julius Raven asked.

Hunter almost called him 'Cadet' but remembered that per Commander Charka's orders all of the cadets had been commissioned as Ensigns in the Colonial Fleet.

Instead he said, "There is a derelict battlestar we discovered that's going to be inspected to see if either the ship can be salvaged or if we can recover materials and supplies from it."

"We're just going to be on patrol?" Ensign Trent Donovan asked.

"I guess that means you won't be able to sucker punch anyone this time," Walter Anson said.

"Oh you would bring that up," Donovan complained.

"Considering what happened after that brawl, I don't think you'll live it down anytime soon," Clarissa Lane shot back.

"Enough," Hunter exclaimed before an argument began, "I want you to get suited up and on the hangar within the hour. Remember your training and you'll be fine out there."

Once Hunter had left the room, the other pilots milled about the room.

"This is it. We're going to be doing this for real," Julie Beck said to the group of pilots.

"It's exciting, it'll beat having to launch and land on one of those old escort battlestars," Virgil Kramer said.

"After having to land on those this will be easy," Murat Halouk agreed.

"I think our instructors from Abry would be proud of us," Harlan Ulmer said.

"It'd be Aquaria for me, but I know what you mean," Osman Ismail added.

"Guess those old school rivalries are gone now," Donovan added as he and Raven walked over to where the group was talking.

"Are the two of you playing nice now?" Ulmer asked.

"We're in this fight together now, I think Donovan and I have come to sort of an understanding," Raven replied.

"All right, pilots, get suited up and head to the hangar deck," Stark said. Although they may not be launching for almost an hour she did not want her pilots milling about talking when they should be preparing to fly.

**Forty-Eight Minutes Later: **

Lieutenant Ashlee 'Blondie' Wyatt finished going over the pre-flight checks to make sure her Raptor was ready to fly. Chief Lancaster and his deck gang had done their part to make sure the craft was ready to fly; it was going to be playing an important part for the mission Commander Charka had in mind.

"Is everything good to go?" a voice behind her asked.

Wyatt turned around and saw that it was Major Hunter, "Everything seems to be in working order. It looks as if the deck gang did a thorough job. I take it you and your pilots are about to launch."

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, we'll be out there to provide cover in case the Cylons show up. Is your ECO coming along with you?"

"She's going to be here shortly, I'm going to need her in the rear seat in case there's trouble on the _Kios_."

"Do you think you'll find trouble over there?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's a derelict battlestar that we discovered in the aftermath of the Cylons destroying our homeworlds. I would rather prepare for the worst. That way, if everything goes well I'll be pleasantly surprised."

"I think it may help you out, just don't be too pessimistic."

"I'll try not to; some good news would go a long way towards helping."

"Good luck out there, Lieutenant; my pilots and I will make sure trouble doesn't touch you if things go south."

Wyatt let out a small laugh, "That's reassuring, good luck out there too, sir."

Hunter left the Raptor and made his way to his Viper. He noticed that two technicians were going through the final pre-launch checks. It would not be long now until he would be flying out in space on what he hoped would be a simple patrol mission.

**Ten Minutes Later: **

**_Ark Royal_, Hangar Deck: **

Ortiz and Colonel Yesenia Hawkins stepped onto the hangar and saw the six Marines standing next to the Raptor that would be taking them to the _Kios_.

"Sergeant Harbrecht," Ortiz said when she reached the Marines, "My XO, Colonel Hawkins, will be coming with us on this mission."

Harbrecht nodded. "We'll be able to accommodate that. We'll be taking Privates Tamika Bishop, Isabella Powers, and Todd Foster. Along with them, we have Corporals Daniel Sexton, Carmen Kelley, and Dustin Barton. I think out of the Marines we have on here they're the ones I'd recommend taking."

"I'm sure they'll do fine, if we're lucky then we won't have to use any weapons when we board the _Kios_," Ortiz said as her hand instinctively went to the handgun that was holstered on the belt of her flight suit.

"Agreed. If you're ready then I think we should get going. The longer we wait the better the chances of the Cylons stumbling upon us."

Ortiz nodded and climbed into the aft compartment of the Raptor, she had decided that she would take the co-pilot's seat for this flight.

"Welcome aboard, Commander," Ensign Catherine 'Party Girl' Perez said from her seat at the ECO station.

"Thank you, Ensign," Ortiz said as she made her way to the co-pilot's seat. She noticed that Lieutenant Wyatt was going through her last minute checks before take-off. She noticed the Raptor pilot was so focused on making sure everything was ready that a passenger sliding into the co-pilot's seat did not break her concentration.

"Marines, board the Raptor," Harbrecht's voice announced before the sound of feet thudded throughout the craft's interior.

"All systems are ready to go," Wyatt called out to Perez.

"I'm starting to believe we're the popular girls on this ship," Perez quipped.

"I don't think 'popular' is the term I'd have used for us but if that's how you want to look at it then go for it. Just don't make sure your head doesn't get too big for its pay grade," Wyatt teased.

"Until we get some Raptor pilots properly trained you're all we have," Ortiz said.

"They should have got my trainer from Vaught-Hemingway here, he'd have had them ready to fly in no time," she said.

"When did you get your Raptor training?"

"Four years ago when I had graduated from Aquaria Military," Wyatt said before pressing a button and saying, "This is Raptor 521, we are prepared for take-off."

The voice of the _Ark Royal's_ LSO came over the radio, "This is Air Traffic Control, sending word that you are ready for take-off."

"Now we just wait," Wyatt said as she rested her head against her seat and let out a long breath.

Ortiz said nothing but instead looked out the cockpit window at the bustling activity of the hangar deck. This was perhaps the busiest the hangar had been since the day the Cylons attacked and the cadets had landed their Vipers and Raptors.

The deck gang brought the Raptor into position on the starboard flight pod's take-off pad. There was total blackness briefly before the take-off area was bathed in the light from the red emergency lights. The large door opened revealing the murky blackness of space.

"Raptor 521, you are now cleared for take-off," the voice of the LSO announced.

"Copy that, LSO, this is Raptor 521 preparing to take-off," Wyatt said as she brought the engines of the Raptor to life. Moments later the Raptor was moving away from the _Ark Royal_ and making its way towards the _Kios_.

"Have you thought about what we'll find over there?" Wyatt asked Ortiz.

"Truthfully, I haven't thought about it too much but we're ready for whatever we do encounter."

"I admire the optimism; it just doesn't seem right to me."

Ortiz was curious, "Any particular reason why?"

"Going by what I've heard through scuttlebutt the Cylons have shut our ships down and destroyed them. Why would they shut down this ship and then leave it?"

Ortiz thought about it. "Perhaps a trap to lure us in. Don't put too much stock in that, Lieutenant, I honestly have no idea what is going on in the heads of the toasters."

"I know what you mean. If I may change the subject…how much longer until there are other Raptor pilots?"

Ortiz suppressed a laugh. "Are you getting tired of being called upon every time we need a Raptor?"

"While I don't mind feeling valued, the constant work is wearing out my ECO and I."

"I'm sure it won't be too much longer until the first group of Raptor pilots is ready to leave the simulator and do the real thing. The Raptor cadets we took onboard need more practice before they're up to our standards. How do you like being on a battlestar instead of a cruiser?"

Wyatt gave the question some thought before answering, "It's been a nice change; the cruisers don't have as much space to devote to the aviation facilities as a battlestar does. Have you served on any cruisers before?"

Ortiz shook her head, "I'm strictly a battlestar woman, from a being a Viper pilot on the _Atlantia_ to taking command of the _Ark Royal_."

"Before the _Hadrian,_ I had been stationed planet-side, when I got the assigned to a ship I was excited…," Wyatt was suddenly quiet as she saw a large contact on her DRADIS.

"I think we found her," Ortiz said as she strained her eyes against the blackness to see what lay ahead of the Raptor.

"Party Girl, turn on our searchlight," Wyatt said to Perez.

Without a word said the light came on and panned around, revealing the derelict hulk of the_ Kios_.

"We're coming up on the port flight pod, I'm going to do a sweep to confirm the name," Wyatt said as she positioned the Raptor to make a sweep over the part of the flight pod where the ship's name would be located.

Ortiz watched out of her window as the light moved along the flight pod. She was not sure how long it took them to get there but they did eventually find the nameplate. In big blog letters was the name 'KIOS', they were in fact in the right place.

"There's our confirmation. Take us in on the upper landing bay," Ortiz said to Wyatt. The young pilot was able to effortlessly turn the Raptor around and entered the landing bay to touch the Raptor down as smoothly as a highly-skilled pilot.

'Whoever your instructor was at Vaught-Hemingway taught you well,' Ortiz thought to herself before turning her attention to Harbrecht, "_All right, _Sergeant, when I give the word we can disembark from the Raptor. Ensign Perez, is the artifical gravity working?"

There was a quiet in the cabin before Perez said, "Artificial gravity is confirmed, Commander."

"Helmets on; prepare to disembark," Ortiz said as everyone in the Raptor not wearing a helmet put one on. She looked over at Perez and the ECO quickly pressed the button that would open the hatch.

"It would be pitch black without that searchlight," Colonel Yesinia Hawkins commented once she was out of the Raptor.

"We're going to have to use our flashlights," Harbrecht said as he thumbed on the light attached to his assault rifle.

"Perhaps there is interior lighting," Ortiz said, the idea of moving around a battlestar by flashlight did not rate high on her list of favorite pastimes. That was including the fact that the _Kios_ was a sister ship of the _Ark Royal_!

"Commander, do you have a flashlight?" Harbrecht asked.

"I can't say that I do, must have forgotten it before I left for the hangar deck."

"I have a spare," Harbrecht said as he walked over and handed her one of the spare flashlights he brought.

"Commander, Ensign Perez will direct the searchlight to wherever you need it," Wyatt said over the wireless.

"Have her move her light to left, there should be a door that leads inside, I want the two of you to stay in the Raptor until we return. If you see trouble coming though, don't hesitate to get back to the _Ark_," Ortiz said.

"Copy that, Commander," Wyatt responded.

"Let's get moving," Ortiz said as she took a step toward one of the hatches on the opposite side of the flight pod that would allow them to enter the hull of the _Kios_.

"With all due respect, Commander, I believe I should be the first one to enter the ship," Harbrecht said as he placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving further.

"This is my mission Sergeant, you're more than welcome to follow me through that hatch but I'm going through it first," Ortiz retorted.

"My job is to keep you alive. I have yet to lose a CO on a mission like this and I'm not about to start now."

Ortiz thought about arguing further but decided against it. "Lead on Sergeant."

The group walked across the flight pod toward the hatch. Ortiz thought traversing across from one side to the other would take little to no time but instead it seemed as though it was taking an eternity to get there. She felt her stomach tighten as the thought of what they could find on this ship began to play with her mind and cause her nerves to somewhat get the better of her. She also noticed that a silence had settled on the group as well, perhaps they were thinking the same thing she was…there was no telling who or what awaited them on the _Kios_.

Minutes later, they arrived at the hatch that would allow them access to the_ Kios'_ main hull. It appeared undamaged. If the Cylons had boarded the ship, they may not have come in this way.

"Colonel, check to see if there is still an atmosphere inside the ship," Ortiz said to Colonel Yesenia Hawkins.

"Aye, aye!" Hawkins said as she walked over to a nearby console and pressed the button that would activate the computer screen.

Ortiz was surprised to see the screen lit up, although the illumination seemed a bit too dim for her liking. She was glad to know that the ship at least had power. The more she thought of it that in and of itself was a minor miracle in her opinion.

"The atmosphere is still present onboard, once we're past the airlock we should be able to remove our helmets," Hawkins said as she pressed the button that would open the hatch that would lead to the airlock beyond.

It did not take long until the group had passed through the airlock and were inside the main hull of the Kios. Ortiz looked around and saw that the lighting was surprisingly dim, as though the emergency generators were barely functioning.

"Everyone, equip flashlights…this lighting is too dim for us," Harbrecht announced.

"The Sergeant is right, until we can get main power going again we'll need to watch our steps," Ortiz said and when she looked at Harbrecht, she saw the Marine give her an approving nod.

"Gods, is that a body?" Hawkins asked as she pointed to a spot further down the corridor.

Ortiz waited for her eyes to adjust to the lighting before looking off in the direction. There was a dark shape off in the distance that looked like it was a body.

"Looks like the crew put up a fight. There are more of them nearby," Harbrecht commented.

"The Cylons must have boarded her," Private Tamika Bishop said.

"I wonder if they're still onboard." Corporal John Dahlgren.

"It's a good question, I'm hoping they're not but there's no way to know for sure," Ortiz said.

"We'd have to search this ship from top to bottom," Private Isabella Reyes commented.

"I suggest we split up," Ortiz said before adding, "I'll go with Sergeant Harbrecht and Colonel Hawkins will lead the other team. We'll make our way to the CIC and see what information we can gather. Colonel, I want you to take your team down to Engineering to see if there's any way we can get the power turned on again."

"What about survivors or Cylons?" Hawkins asked.

"Survivors are still a priority, there is a small chance some of the crew may still be alive. As for Cylons, if there are any on this ship then the odds are we won't find survivors. If you see or hear Cylons do everything you can to avoid being detected," Harbrecht said before Ortiz had a chance to respond. He looked over at her and saw her nod her agreement with his statement.

"Sergeant, you can pick who you want to have come with us," Ortiz said. Harbrecht knew the Marines better than she did; it was a case where she was willing to defer to his judgment.

"Bishop, Dahlgren, and Reyes are coming with us. The rest of you are with Colonel Hawkins. Stay in contact with us and let us know as soon as you find either surviving crewmembers or Cylons," Harbrecht said and the three Marines promptly gathered up where he and Ortiz were standing.

"We'll head to Broadway and from there we'll go our separate ways," Ortiz said. The _Kios_ and _Ark Royal_ were sister ships and from her time on the _Ark _andon the _Illustrious_ she had a familiarity with this class of battlestar. The centerline passageway known as "Broadway" on the third deck ran the length of the ship and provided fast access to areas of the ship. To cover ground in a hurry this would be their best.

**Raptor 521: **

"They're in the hull, I think we can turn that searchlight off," Wyatt said.

"Copy that, extinguishing the light," Perez said as she flipped the switch that turned off the light.

"I think this might be the hardest part for us," Wyatt said as she let out a deep breath and turned her eyes away from the lighted instrument panels that were facing her.

"Waiting is rough, and then there's the other downside to being here right now."

Wyatt could not help but be curious, "What would that be?"

"Thinking about our loved ones, have you thought about you family on Scorpia?"

"When we first got word of the attack on the _Hadrian_ I checked the news reports and found that Ulysses was one of the cities the toasters nuked."

"What about your husband?"

"Kevin was visiting Caprica City on business. From what I heard about the attack there…well, we were supposed to be married longer than seven months," Wyatt said and she knew her voice betrayed the bitterness at having to accept that her husband of less than a year had probably perished in the attack.

"I can sympathize with you. I don't think my family on Virgon made it out either; I heard Boskirk got hit hard."

Wyatt tried to break out of feeling sorry for herself, "I'm sorry, Cat, what about your boyfriend?"

"He had gone home to Picon to visit friends in Memphis…we're in the same boat."

"I remember meeting Terrence when we had leave on Gemenon, he was a good man."

Perez let out a short bitter laugh, "That's what makes this whole thing so terrible, it's like all we have to live for is revenge…but how long is that going to keep us going?"

"We've been so busy since we got transferred to the _Ark_ I haven't really had the time to think about it."

"It's kept me up these past few nights when I've laid there in my rack trying to get some sleep. The worst part of my day is when I'm there alone with my thoughts. ThInk about it, Ash, we've lost everything and everyone we love and all we have left to hold onto is our Raptor and the battlestar we've found ourselves on."

Wyatt was quiet as she took in her friend's words, "In time I think we'll be able to move on but for now we just have to deal with the hurt."

"I know we have to deal with it, doesn't mean I'm fond of having to go through it."

**Twenty Minutes Later: **

**_Kios_, CIC: **

The trip from Broadway to the CIC was a quiet one. The fear of being discovered by any Cylons possibly on board ensured that no conversations took place among the squad. Harbrecht, Bishop, Dahlgren, and Reyes kept their weapons ready in case of trouble, their faces reflecting the focused training they had received from their Marine instructors when they reported to the city of Basilone on Aquaria.

"I see the doors to the CIC up ahead," Ortiz whispered.

"Are they open?" Harbrecht asked in the same tone she had used.

"Open," she said as she edged closer to the CIC. She was so focused on the entrance that she did not notice the body of the deceased crewmember in front of her and she almost lost her balance when she tripped over the corpse.

Harbrecht's instincts kicked in and he quickly grabbed a hold her to keep her from falling and held onto her until she got her balance.

"Thanks," she said feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"No problem, Commander," he said as he released his grip on her, "I promise I won't breathe a word of this."

"I appreciate it," she said before shining her flashlight around the corridor, "I think it was one hell of a fight."

Harbrecht shone his light around also, "Look at all the marks the bullets left. If the Cylons made it to the CIC they had to fight for it."

"I give them credit for that," Ortiz said as she entered the CIC and panned her light around, "It's empty in here."

The others in the squad entered the CIC behind her and inspected the room.

"I have a deceased crewmember over here," Dahlgren said from where the Damage Control station was located.

"There may be more here, but first let's see if we can get Communications back up," Ortiz said as she walked over to the Communications Station to see if she could get back in touch with the _Ark Royal_.

"Are you worried about being too loud?" Reyes asked.

"Between my near-fall and Dahlgren calling out that he found a body, if the Cylons were here they'd have heard us by now," Ortiz said as she tried to bring up the _Kios_' communications system.

"Any luck?" Harbrecht asked.

She shook her head, "Not yet, but I'll find a way to make it work."

"Are there any crewmembers here that are still alive?" Bishop asked.

Reyes shrugged. "If there are then maybe they're hiding somewhere."

"Got it," Ortiz said before she walked over to Command and Control to pick up the receiver. It was not long after that when she heard the voice of Lieutenant Dwight Woodward from _Ark Royal_, "Mister Woodward, is Commander Charka nearby?"

"At least that is still working," Harbrecht said as he looked over the other stations in the CIC.

"This is Actual," Ortiz heard Charka's voice say over the line. She tried to decide if he was surprised to hear her voice or not.

"Commander, we've boarded the _Kios_ and so far we have yet to see any Cylons onboard."

"I see, what about the crew?"

"So far we've found quite a few bodies but no survivors."

"How is the hangar deck over there, do they still have Vipers and Raptors onboard?"

"We're not sure; I didn't give the hangar a high priority."

This time when Charka spoke there was a strong hint of irritation in his voice, "You do realize that our main weapon happens to be our air group, seeing as how you were the CO of my ship. With that said wouldn't it have made sense to explore the hangar and see if we might be able to salvage the air wing?"

Ortiz felt a flash of anger come over her but she tried to keep her voice neutral. "I don't think you realize is that we have a whole battlestar that we can possibly salvage and use against the Cylons. Keep in mind that if we can get power restored, we can turn the _Kios_ from a being just a ship we can strip for supplies, to using it to help us fight the enemy."

"You may have a point, but don't go getting your hopes up. I hate to be the negative one but I doubt we're going to be able to reactivate the _Kios_. Don't go getting your hopes up of getting a command, you shouldn't fall in love with a ship you can't have."

"I understand, just in case though I've sent Colonel Hawkins to Main Engineering to see if it's possible to restore power to the ship. My instincts are telling me that there is something more to this."

"How so?" Charka asked.

"From what the reports say that about the Cylons is that they've been able to turn the battlestars and other Colonial Fleet ships off at will, but then they destroy them as soon as they do that. It makes me wonder why they would turn off the _Kios_ but only leave it drifting. Why didn't they destroy it?"

"That's something that you might find out while you're over there. Keep me updated as you make progress; if you find anything significant let me know right away. Actual out," Charka said before the line went dead.

"He would find a way to get the last word in," Ortiz griped as she put the receiver down.

"What do you want to do now, Commander?" Harbrecht asked.

"Let's move forward and see what we find, if there are survivors on here they may be in the berthing areas or near other areas where they'd the essentials," Ortiz said as she turned to leave the CIC with the Marines behind her. She hated to admit but part of the conversation with Charka had gotten under her skin more than she had wanted it to.

**Kios, Emergency Generator Room 2: **

"That hatch should lead us to the ladder that will take us down to the deck below," Hawkins said as she pointed her flashlight across the room towards the hatch in question.

"It still feels strange that we haven't found any Cylons yet?" Private Todd Foster commented.

"I consider that a stroke of good luck," Corporal Carmen Kelley said.

Donald Varian, the other Corporal in the group, chimed in with, "Going by the dead bodies we've come across so far it looks like they must have killed the crew and left."

"Let's not get too negative, we may still find survivors," Hawkins said.

"Here's to hoping," Foster added as he followed Hawkins the other Marines across the room.

"I wonder how Commander Ortiz and the Sarge are doing," Varian said.

"They've probably made it to the CIC by now, if they can get in touch with the _Ark_ then there's something positive to think about," Hawkins said. In their current situation, it was easy to allow the negativity take hold and when it did, it could be hard to shake off.

"Speaking of the _Ark_, it is strange being on a sister ship. It's not hard to imagine this would be our ship if the places were swapped," Foster added.

"Not helping, Private Foster," Kelley said.

Hawkins had to wonder if Foster's comments had managed to disturb Kelley. She did not dwell on it long as she led the way down the passageway that led to the emergency trunk that in times of combat would allow members of the Engineering Department the chance to escape to safety if their area had become uninhabitable.

Hawkins holstered her sidearm and lifted the covering off the escape trunk, "Let's get ready to climb down."

"Where should this lead to?" Varian asked.

"The Air Conditioning Machinery Room," Hawkins said before adding, "From there we'll be able to get to the Central Control Station in Engineering."

"Do you think you'll be able to the power back up?" Kelley asked.

"I may have to press some buttons and pull some wires but eventually I'll get it working again. If all else fails I'll do the one thing my husband never did when putting something together, I'll read the directions."

The climb down took a few minutes but when it was over the group of four was in the Air Conditioning Machinery Room. Hawkins had made it a point to study the plans for the _Kios_ in case its layout had differed greatly from the _Ark Royal_ but so far, it had not. Much like Commander Ortiz had made it a point to tour her ship and become familiar with its layout. That strategy had paid off so far.

"Let's get into Central Control and get this ship powered up," Hawkins said as she headed down the passageway.

She got to the hatch marked with the words 'Central Control' stenciled in large block letters. She swung the hatch open and stepped inside. She was caught off guard by the sight of the computer monitors turned on; the room seemed to have been in use. She was going to turn and say something but a hand pressed against her mouth and pulled her further into the room while the hatch was swung closed.

Hawkins struggled against her captor with all her might, when she managed to escape the person's grip she swung around intending to deliver a punch to the unidentified person. Instead, she was grabbed from behind and the person she was going to hit instead sent her to the floor with a well-placed punch to her jaw.

"You may not want to do that," a man's voice said.

"Who are you?" she asked once she got her bearings. There were four people in the dimly lit room; their features became more defined with the light from the computer monitors as her eyes adjusted.

"You first," the man said.

"Colonel Yesinia Hawkins of the Battlestar _Ark Royal_," Hawkins said just stopping short of adding her serial number.

"She's lying," a woman's voice said.

The man produced a gun and pointed it at her head, "She's right, the _Ark Royal_ was decommissioned. The ship would have been a sitting duck for the Cylons."

Hawkins heard the pounding on the hatch from the Marines; her captors must have bolted it shut. "We were docked at Lampetia after the decommissioning. The Cylons attacked and we managed to jump away."

"You think she's one of them?" another man asked.

"She could easily be, there's no way of knowing," the man holding the gun said.

"What the frak are you talking about?" Hawkins asked, the desperation was starting to sneak into her voice.

"When the Cylons boarded they were led by various humans. We don't know if they're traitors or if maybe the toasters can now look like you and me."

"I am Colonel Yesinia Marie Hawkins. I was born and raised on Leonis in the city of Atherstone. I have served on the battlestars _Mercury_, _Achilles, Bellerophon, Athena, Columbia, Stryker, Picon,_ and _Illustrious_. I am not a frakking Cylon!"

To Hawkins it seemed as though it was an eternity before the man finally relented and put the gun away.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Colonel, but if you're lying either my crew or I will gladly put a bullet into that skull of yours. I am Lieutenant Kendrick Haynes of the _Kios_' Engineering Department. With me are Ensign Emilia Heath, Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Antwan Sellers, and Electrician's Mate 1st Class Jackson Morrow. If you are who you say you are then I'm sorry for decking you, after what we've been through on this ship you can't be too careful."

Hawkins nodded and rubbed her jaw where the punch had landed. "You must have been on the ship's boxing team if you pack a punch like that. Let's open the door for my friends before they try ramming it down."

"Are you sure they won't try to find another way to get into this room?" Haynes asked.

Hawkins let out a laugh, "They're Marines. When it comes to solving a problem they prefer to run through a wall rather than go around it."

"Duly noted…all right then, let's get back so Colonel Hawkins can let her friends come in."

"Are there other survivors onboard?" Hawkins asked as she walked over to open the hatch.

"Yes but they're staying to the berthing areas mostly," Haynes said.

Hawkins unbolted the hatch and the three Marines came barreling into the room with their weapons at the ready.

"You can put those away, it appears we found survivors after all," Hawkins said to the Marines.

**Avionics Shop 7-A: **

"Through here should be one of the crew berthing areas," Ortiz said.

"Was it worth taking the detour through the hangar deck?" Harbrecht asked.

"It seemed like a good idea," she said as she fought the thought that the conversation with Charka somehow had led her to explore the hangar. She was not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten under skin with his comments. The trip had paid off; the _Kios_ still had its full complement of Vipers and Raptors. If the ship could not be salvaged then perhaps the air wing could be offloaded onto the _Ark_ to help bulk up its ranks.

"Apparently, you found what you were hoping to find. I'm sure Commander Charka will be pleased."

Ortiz gave Harbrecht a look of annoyance at the mention of Charka's name. She was going to say something else but the hatch that led to the next compartment opened up as well as the hatch on the right side of the room. She and the Marines each took cover behind various benches and equipment.

There was the sound of footsteps thudding on the _Kios_' deck coming from both directions.

"This is Lieutenant Brendan Wolfe of the Battlestar _Kios_, I have you surrounded. Come out slowly from where you're hiding and we won't open fire on you."

Ortiz and Harbrecht were huddled close enough to where they could whisper to one another.

"Any ideas?" she asked him.

"This isn't the first time I've been surrounded on all sides by someone pointing a gun at me but this time is different."

She could not help but ask, "How is this different?"

"Last time this happened I had the Sagittaron Liberation Army pointing guns at me," Harbrecht said.

"These are the good guys at least; let's at least come out from here and talk to him," she said; before Harbrecht could protest, she stood up with her arms raised.

'I hope she knows what she's doing,' he thought, following suit along with the other Marines. There were survivors on the_ Kios_ after all but they had developed a huge case of paranoia when it came to visitors.


	5. Chapter 5: Dead in the Water

Chapter Five: Dead in the Water

Battlestar _Kios_, Avionics Shop 7-A:

"I'm Commander Audra Ortiz from the Battlestar _Ark Royal_," Ortiz said as she moved closer towards their captors.

"Stay right there," Lieutenant Brendan Wolfe said as he pointed his sidearm at Ortiz's chest.

"What have you found?" a man's voice said from the hatch on the far side of the room.

Ortiz's eyes focused on him and saw that he was an officer with the rank of Captain. Judging by the Viper wings affixed to his uniform, she deduced he was probably one of the squadron commanders.

"Captain Waldron," Wolfe said before lowering his sidearm and saying, "These people got on here somehow."

"I see," Waldron said as his eyes scanned the group his pilots had captured, "Who are you?"

"You first," Ortiz said.

"Captain John Waldron III, I'm the CO of Viper Squadron Three, and now it's your turn," he said with a hint of amusement to his voice.

"Commander Audra Ortiz of the _Ark Royal_, we boarded this ship looking for survivors."

His eyes did not betray a sign of whether or not he believed her. Instead, he said, "The Cylons boarded us after they had disabled our ship. Most of us fought and some were killed or taken prisoner, how did the _Ark _survive?"

"We had decommissioned the ship and were still preparing for the inactivation process when Lampetia was hit; we managed to get away and have been trying to keep a low profile. It's necessary when you don't have an air wing. How did you escape from the Cylons?"

Waldron shrugged, "They must have used non-lethal ammo on those of us they left behind. I was on the hangar deck and I remember firing at the Centurions until I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I hit the ground unconscious and it was hours later when I woke up."

"Have you tried to call for help since then?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Our communications have been disabled and we've been trying our damndest to get it up and going again. So far it looks like the Cylons don't want us to get help, for all I know they left us here to slowly run out of supplies and starve to death."

"You're as good as rescued if we are able to get you and your people back onto the _Ark_ then we can go from there."

"I know who you are, but who are your jarhead friends?" Waldon said as he eyed the Marines standing behind Ortiz.

"Right. Here with me are Master Sergeant John Harbrecht, Corporal John Dahlgren, Private Isabella Reyes, and Private Tamika Bishop."

Waldron looked at Harbrecht, "A Master Sergeant; tell me something, how did you earn that rank?"

Harbrecht looked at him stoically and said, "The hard way."

"One day I may have to hear that story, but right now I'm more concerned with getting my people off of this ship. It appears I'm the senior officer left on the _Kios_. The Cylons took Commander Woods and we found Colonel Murrin's body in the CIC. Truth is, this was supposed to be a shakedown cruise for us. We had no idea it was going to turn out like this."

"Nothing is ever that simple in times like these," Ortiz said before adding, "We have a Raptor waiting to take us back to the _Ark_, how about you and a few of your pilots come with us."

Waldron nodded. "Come with us to the berthing compartment we've been using, I don't think I'll have a problem with finding volunteers."

_**Kios**_, Emergency Generator Room 2:

"What have you been working on down here?" Colonel Yesinia Hawkins asked once the tensions in the room had settled down.

"Captain Waldron sent us here to try to restart the _Kios_' systems," Lieutenant Kendrick Haynes, the senior officer remaining of the _Kios_' Engineering Department, said as he motioned towards the console he had been working at before Hawkins had come upon the room.

"How's that coming along?" Hawkins asked.

Haynes' face did not hide his discouragement, "I won't lie to you; it's been troublesome. The problem is that I don't think the Captain is willing to let me do what I think should be done, especially if the Cylons somehow put a virus into our computers."

Hawkins was puzzled, "Why won't he let you do what you need to do?"

Haynes let out a short chuckle and said, "Because Captain Waldron may know the ins and outs of flying a Viper but he doesn't know the first thing about engineering. At least that's what I've observed."

Hawkins suppressed a laugh. "I'm sure he is more than willing to correct your professional assessment of his abilities."

Haynes shrugged. "Perhaps, but what I said would still stand. Moving along though, I think the problem we're experiencing could be more of a software problem than a hardware problem."

Hawkins walked up and glanced at the computer display. "What gives you that idea?"

"I've been through Engineering and as best I can tell our machinery is in perfect working condition. I mean, we finished our shakedown cruise not long ago and we had worked all the kinks out of the systems. The problem is that while I know my way about the mechanics of the ship, the software knowledge is a bit lacking."

"I take it that you have been trying a software fix even though you don't seem to know what you're doing."

Haynes nodded. "I've been the sort who could pick up something easily but this is a whole other area for me to figure out."

"Let me have a look at it," Hawkins said.

"With all due respect, ma'am, aren't you as much of a Viper jock as Captain Waldron?"

"I piloted Raptors actually, but I did cross train on Vipers when I was made CAG of the Athena. After that I took over as Tactical Officer on the _Medusa_," Hawkins said.

"That's good to know, but do you have any knowledge of how to work with software?"

"I spent two months at the Vallette Training Center on Gemenon learning the ins and outs of software in case I ever needed to use the skills as the ship's Tactical Officer. Knowing that, I think you should have no problem with letting me see if I can solve this problem we're having."

Haynes took a step back. "When you put it like that I find it hard to argue."

"Glad you see things my way; otherwise I'd have had to pull rank on you," Hawkins said as she began accessing the data files to see if the Cylons had uploaded some type of virus that was keeping the _Kios_' systems from starting back up.

A few minutes later Hawkins turned to the group. "Let's head up to the CIC; I think I've gone about as far as I can from this station."

_Kios_, Port Flight Pod Airlock:

The group had made it to the airlock from which they had originally entered the hull of the Kios. This time Waldron and five of his pilots accompanied them. Lieutenants Lyonal Oregon, Stephen McGowan Jr., Rudolph Bielka, Lara York, and Selena Wilder had been handpicked by Waldron to accompany him over to the _Ark Royal_, though he did not elaborate on his reasons for choosing them. The rest of the crew initially resisted the plan, but both Waldron and Ortiz assured them that they would be rescued.

"So I assume your XO is in command of your ship at the moment?" Waldron said. The members were now in their flight suits with their helmets attached and in place, their suits' wireless units the only way for them to communicate.

"Commander Charka is in command of the _Ark_. I was in command until Fleet Command relieved me of command shortly before the Cylons attacked so let's just say that the situation on the ship is…complicated."

Waldron shook his head and laughed, "Two commanders on one ship; yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."

"The Raptor should be able to fit all of us comfortably," Ortiz said and when she lit up the control panel and it turned green she knew it was safe to open the door, "Let's get moving."

"Not going to happen," Harbrecht said before continuing with, "My Marines and I will stay on here to make sure there aren't any of the toasters left on here. If they're lying in wait for us we'll send them back to whatever robotic afterlife they believe in."

"Sarge, they're robots so they probably don't believe in the afterlife," Bishop said.

Harbrecht just smiled,. "That may be true, but if they do believe then I'll be more than happy to help them find out if it's real or not."

"You're pretty sure of yourself," York said and then asked, "Just how much combat have you seen?"

"A good portion of what I've done is classified, but with the Cylons blowing the frak out of the Colonies I guess I can tell you. I saw action against the Sagittaron Liberation Army, the Eastern Alliance, the Erebea, and the New Green Army. Have you heard of either Operation Gorizia Canyon or Operation Gladiator?"

"I don't think those made the news," York admitted.

"That's because those were done in cooperation between the Marines and the Ministry of Intelligence, hence the "Eyes Only" classification. As far as I'm concerned, the Cylons are just another enemy for me to take out."

"If you're wondering about the Sarge, I think that helps prove he's got the skills to clear this shop of the Cylons if they run into them," Ortiz said.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander," Harbrecht said, and this time a smile came to his face.

"The sooner we get to the Raptor the sooner we can debrief Commander Charka in person on the _Ark_," Ortiz said. When Harbrecht and the Marines had exited the airlock and closed the door on their side, she opened the hatch that would allow them to step out of the airlock and onto the flight pod.

The beam of the Raptor's searchlight came their way and bathed them in a bath of bright light.

"We see you, Commander," the Raptor's pilot, Lieutenant Ashlee 'Blondie' Wyatt, said as she moved the searchlight away from the group.

"Have the Raptor ready to take off, Lieutenant. We're bringing a group of the pilots from the _Kios_ with us on this trip," Ortiz said.

"Aye, Commander, we'll be ready to fly as soon as you arrive," Wyatt said

Twenty-Four Minutes Later:

Battlestar _Ark Royal_, Commanding Officer's Office:

Commander Caden Charka ran a hand over his shaved head and turned to face Ortiz and Waldron. "You're telling me that there is an entire air wing over on that ship?"

"By all appearances it would seem so. From what the crew we encountered reported, the Cylons were only interested in taking prisoners from the _Kios_. Everything else they simply left behind."

Before Charka could speak Waldron spoke up, "We have Vipers, Raptors, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and just about everything you would need to fight a war."

"I see…any you brought over five pilots instead of some of those much-needed supplies. Commander; care to explain to me why you did that?" Charka said as he fixed Ortiz with a look.

"I thought it would be more important to get some of the crew over here to the _Ark Royal_ so you could hear the status of what we found on the ship from someone who was actually there."

"I could have taken the report from you and have had no trouble taking it at face value. Would you care to explain why you thought I would not believe something you told me; is our mistrust in one another really that great?"

Ortiz was going to answer truthfully but thought better of it. "In my opinion, human lives are more valuable than our supplies. We can rescue at least some of the crew and get supplies from other sources."

"Captain Waldron, thank you for coming to brief me in person. You are dismissed," Charka said to Waldron. When the hatch closed behind him on the way out, the air in the room chilled.

"From the moment I boarded the _Kios_ you have been awfully concerned about the materiel I could find instead of the human survivors," Ortiz said.

"I'm more concerned about having the resources to wage a fight against the Cylons. It doesn't matter how many people we save or have onboard this ship, if we don't have the weapons to fight effectively then we are as good as dead. The next time you let your bleeding-heart sensibilities get the better of you just remember that letting your compassion get in the way could end up getting all of us killed."

"I doubt the Cylons are going to find us out here at the moment and that will give us time to offload both the crew and the supplies still on the _Kios_," Ortiz countered.

Charka let out a laugh. "Since you are so sure you can get it done; then by all means feel free to lead the salvage effort, but I want everything useable on that ship offloaded for us to use."

"I know I can make it happen, I'm more than competent at what I do," Ortiz said and it was then she began to walk towards the hatch.

"You should go and make good use of your time, because believe me when I tell you that if the Cylons return while you're on the _Kios_ I won't wait around for you to return."

Ortiz turned to him before she stepped out of the hatch. "I can only imagine how much you would love that."

Nine Minutes Later:

_**Ark Royal**_, Hangar Deck:

"Chief, we need to get to work on this," Ortiz said when she got to the hangar deck and barged into Chief Reginald Lancaster's office.

"Commander Ortiz, sorry, you caught me off-guard," he said as he tried to recover from the shock of having her storm into his workspace.

"Don't worry about that; are the Raptors the cadets landed still in working order?"

Lancaster nodded. "My people have been keeping them maintained in case they were needed again; I assume this is one of those times?"

Ortiz nodded her head, "You and I are going to oversee the salvage of the _Kios_. We need to offload both the surviving crew as well as any items that can be of use to us here on the _Ark_. How quickly can you get a salvage team together?"

"Half an hour to forty-five minutes I suppose. Are you sure the Cylons aren't going to show up while we're in the middle of this?"

"Damned if I know but I'm willing to gamble on the side of optimism and say we'll be fine. Now, you have twenty-five minutes to get a salvage crew ready to the _Kios_. I'll see you then, Chief," Ortiz said before turning to leave the room.

She looked and saw a Viper Mark VII being wheeled into its berth. Looking at the tail numbers, she recognized who had just landed. She waited until the man had descended the ladder and removed his helmet before she spoke to him.

"Welcome home, CAG; I hope you didn't mind the little Viper practice you just had," she said to Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter.

Hunter shook his head, "I'd have rather had an uneventful day out there. We may have pilots, but they haven't gelled enough as an air wing to be able to fight the Cylons."

"True enough. I have a job for you; I need Raptor pilots for an upcoming salvage operation," she said as the two began walking toward one of the hatches that would lead toward the ready rooms for the Raptor squadrons. True, the pilots that had piloted the Raptors over from the two escort battlestars had some flying experience, but she had her doubts about just how ready they were to be able to pilot a Raptor on an actual mission.

"That won't be a problem, Commander, but if you're interested I may have an idea to run by you," Hunter said.

"I'm interested in hearing it," Ortiz said and she wondered what it was the CAG was going to suggest.

"I know about the pilots on the _Kios_ that you found; wouldn't it make more sense to see if any of them are Raptor pilots and bring them over to pilot the Raptors we have?"

Ortiz mentally kicked herself for not having thought of it. "Major Hunter that is an excellent idea!"

"Thank you, Commander; and please call me 'Archangel'."

"Fair enough, it's not like I'm exactly in command anymore."

"Permission to speak freely," Hunter requested.

"Granted," Ortiz said.

"I think it was a disgrace how you lost command of the ship, but I am glad you're still here on the _Ark_. From what I've heard from some of the crew, they would rather you were still their CO."

"I had wondered about that. So far, there's been nothing but Charka and me butting heads over how we should handle things on this ship."

"If you're going to go with my idea for bringing over the _Kios_ pilots, then I'd like to volunteer as a Raptor pilot," Hunter said.

Ortiz knew she had not done such a great job of hiding her shock, "How did you end up learning to fly a Raptor?"

"When I was made CAG of the _Vasa_ I made it a point to learn to fly the Raptors so I would have an understanding of how both the Vipers and Raptors were capable of flying."

"Considering how short we are on Raptor pilots, I'd be more than happy to have you help me. First get some rest," Ortiz said.

"Your mission, your rules, Commander," Hunter said as he turned a corner and headed away from her.

"He just might be easy to work with," Ortiz said silently as she walked away. This mission was going to be complicated even though it seemed to be straightforward in its simplicity.

On the surface, it was a simple rescue and recovery mission. She needed to evacuate the surviving crew of the _Kios_ and recover the Vipers and other valuable supplies in case the ship itself was a total loss.

_**Kios,**_ Aviation Supply Department Storeroom:

"All clear," Harbrecht said as he stepped through the hatch and into the Supply Department storeroom for the Aviation Division.

"Sarge, I have a bad feeling about this," Reyes said.

"I have to agree with her," Bishop added.

"Keep it to yourselves. We're going to keep sweeping the ship for Cylons and if we find any we'll make sure we destroy them," Harbrecht chided.

"Hey, Sarge, I think I heard something," Dahlgren said.

"Where?" Harbrecht asked.

"Sounded like it could have been over there near that far bulkhead," Dahlgren said as he pointed over to where a hatch was with the words 'MISSILE MAGAZINE 3-40-M' written on it in large black stencil lettering was located.

"We're going to investigate. I want you to switch your magazines to the high-explosive rounds; and no unnecessary conversations from here on out," Harbrecht said and he looked at each of the Marines as they nodded their understanding.

The four Marines quietly stepped along the deck until they reached the hatch that led into the magazine.

"Weapons ready and we move in." Harbrecht held up four fingers and lowered them one at a time in a silent count.

Wordlessly, Harbrecht opened the hatch and swung it open. The magazine looked as though it was in almost perfect order, apart from some large storage containers, and was awaiting the inspection of either the commanding officer or an admiral. The room was lighted and the racks of missiles intended for the Vipers looked to have been undisturbed.

The group entered the room one by one and immediately found cover behind the various crates that were still strewn about the room. Bishop, the last one through, closed the hatch and secured it before she found a spot where she could take cover in case there was trouble.

"It's awfully quiet in here," Reyes whispered through her wireless set.

"Whoever or whatever is in here can't get out without us knowing it," Dahlgren said.

There was a distinct metallic sound against the deck that sounded more like a heavy thump.

"Remember, no unnecessary conversations," Harbrecht chided. He was certain that whatever was in here was more foe than friend.

He turned to face the Marines but he saw the look of shock on their faces. He turned to find himself facing a hulking metal Cylon.

The metallic beast immediately swiped at him with its arm and sent him flying into some nearby crates. The impact seemed to shake every bone in his body and he wondered if something had been broken. He looked and saw that his three Marines had scattered and had taken cover.

He heard the metallic footsteps getting closer and as he reached into the inside of his left boot, the Cylon grabbed him. As he frantically tried to loosen the object strapped to his ankle the Cylon held him up and then delivered a punch to his rib cage that he was sure had broken something. This time as he hit the deck, Harbrecht felt the item he had been trying to loosen come out of the holster.

The rattle of the Marine's assault rifles firing at something distracted him momentarily; he could only assume that there were other Cylons in this large room. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he began to move toward the area where he was certain his assault rifle had flown. If everything worked out as he hoped it would, he would get to it and have a fighting chance. If not, well, there was still the object he had retrieved from his ankle holster.

Dahlgren emptied his magazine and still the Cylon he encountered kept moving toward him. He looked at the machine's right arm and thought he saw a blade extending from it.

"You have got to be kidding me," he exclaimed as he loosed another volley of bullets.

This time there was the distinct clicking sound that announced that the magazine was empty. He withdrew a fresh clip from his ammo holster and was about to insert it when the Cylon charged him and swung some type of blade in his direction. He ducked and rolled out of the way in the nick of time, he felt the wind from the strike across the back of his neck and realized just how close to death he was.

The Centurion looked in his direction and Dahlgren immediately sprinted to the cover of some nearby crates. He used his brief time hiding to put a fresh magazine in place. That Cylon was going to be a tough bastard to bring down. The idea hit him and he promptly attached his bayonet to his assault rifle, if the rounds did not bring the toaster down then he would have to rely on some kind of backup.

Reyes was in the process of changing magazines when a Centurion caught her off guard and with a swipe of its arm sent her crashing against a container. She felt as though her head was a bell that had been rung several times and it took her a few moments to get her bearings again.

"Oh, no you don't," Bishop said as she jumped on the Centurion's back and brought a knife down onto the Cylon's neck.

"Good save," Reyes said as the cobwebs in her head began to clear out.

"Don't mention it, these things have to be a pain in the ass to take down solo," she said as she readied her assault rifle.

The Centurion attempted to reach for the knife and remove it but instead it staggered about as if it were drunk before it fell to the deck with one of its hands outstretched towards the two Marines.

"That was intense," Reyes said.

"About time we got to see some real action," Bishop replied.

"Would you be saying that if things had gone differently with the toaster?" Reyes asked.

"Just be glad we made it out of that fight," Bishop said before the sound of a metallic footstep behind them brought them face to face with another Centurion.

"As you were saying…" Reyes said before both she and Bishop let loose with a barrage of high explosive rounds from their assault rifles.

The Centurion began advancing until its head exploded in a shower of sparks and circuitry.

"Looked like you ladies were having some trouble," Dahlgren said as he came up to where they were standing.

"It was nothing we couldn't have handled," Bishop said before adding, "Judging by the side of your face you took a beating."

Dahlgren's hand went to the left side of his face. As he felt how tender it was, he realized that he probably did look worse off than he actually was. "I'm sure it was from one of the times I hit the deck."

"Any idea where the Sarge is?" Reyes asked.

"He's around here somewhere. He must be keeping to his order about no unnecessary conversations," Bishop said.

"Do you think there are more of these things?" Dahlgren asked.

The two women shrugged and Reyes said, "I know our ammo isn't exactly infinite so we may want to make a hasty retreat."

"A pity this isn't some kind of video game where you never run out of ammo," Bishop said.

"Yeah, and you also never really die in a video game," Dahlgren added.

"Let's get moving and find a way out of here, otherwise we may not make it out of this room," Reyes said.

Bishop nodded, "Yeah, especially if there are more of those Centurions lurking around."

Harbrecht moved past a stack of crates and he saw the metallic glint of his assault rifle just a short distance away. He started to move towards it when the Cylon came charging at him, its fist ready to deliver more punishment. Harbrecht ducked a right hook from the Cylon and brought his knife to bear on spot on the Cylon's chest.

He looked with satisfaction as the knife buried itself up to the hilt in the Cylon's metallic body. The machine started to withdraw once Harbrecht removed the knife. He hoped that would slow it down enough for him to reach his rifle but it was not to be the case. The Cylon barreled towards him again; and this time in one swift motion, it grabbed him by the front of his uniform and picked him up off the deck. Its free hand drew back and made a fist, and Harbrecht realized that it was more than likely heading straight for his face.

In an act of self-preservation, he plunged his knife into the Cylon's red eye with all the force he could manage. The machine immediately released him and clawed at the knife in an attempt to free it. Realizing that this was his moment, Harbrecht immediately ran to his assault rifle and picked it up. He saw a nearby conveyor belt that led to a weapons elevator.

"Marines, there's an elevator at the end of this conveyor belt. Make your way there and prepare for me!" he yelled into his wireless piece.

"We'll wait for you," Dahlgren said.

"I don't think the Sarge can make it from his position," Bishop said.

"I'm going to put this conveyor belt to good use," Harbrecht said as he flipped the switch on a nearby control panel to activate the belt. It quickly came to life and for a moment, he thought he would lose his balance. If he did, then the Cylons still in the room would get grab him.

He looked and saw that there were already four Cylons lying on the deck, their bodies riddled by the high explosive rounds carried in the assault rifles. He was going to breathe a sigh of relief when he felt the belt shake as though a heavy weight had suddenly landed on it. He turned and saw the Cylon from before had jumped onto the belt and was effortlessly running towards him.

He faced the Cylon and let loose a barrage of gunfire from his assault rifle. The bullets entered the mechanical body and did untold damage to the Centurion's internal components. The machine slowed down bit by bit until it finally lurched toward him and landed facedown onto the belt.

Moments later, the belt arrived at the end and he saw the three Marines standing on the elevator with their backs to one another in a triangle formation.

"Good job, Marines," he said as he got on the elevator with them and pressed the button to send the elevator to the hangar deck.

"That was a hell of a fight, Sarge," Reyes said.

"Damn things were going to swarm us; they'd have probably killed us if not for our ammo," Bishop said.

"That one chasing you appeared to have beaten you up pretty well," Dahlgren added.

"I'm sure the Sarge will tell you it's only a flesh wound," Bishop said with a bit more humor now that they seemed to be leaving harm's way.

Harbrecht hated to admit it, but the fact was that he probably was going to need to be seen by the doctor. "That frakking toaster did a number on me. Between having to shoot it and the damage I dealt to it with my knife…that was one tough son of a bitch."

"I think it's safe to say this ship isn't completely safe," Reyes commented as she thought of what they had just witnessed.

"What gets me is that there is still crew on here and yet to the best of my knowledge they have not encountered these Cylons," Harbrecht said.

"When you put it like that it does seem kind of odd," Reyes admitted.

"You have to wonder if those toasters were just waiting for someone to stumble upon them," Bishop said.

Dahlgren was quiet for a moment before he said, "I'm sure there is more to this than we realize, but I recommend we be careful where we step foot on here."

Harbrecht nodded. "After a firefight like that one I'd feel more comfortable with a couple of platoons."

"You won't hear me say otherwise," Bishop said and it was when she looked at Harbrecht's face that she suddenly felt more concerned about his wellbeing, "Hey, Sarge, did you know you have blood coming out from your lips?"

Harbrecht quickly ran a hand over his mouth and looked at the blood on his fingers. "That toaster must have put more of a hurt on me than I thought."

The elevator came to a stop upon reaching the hangar deck. A group of personnel from both the _Kios_ and the _Ark Royal_ immediately surrounded them.

"Sergeant Harbrecht, this is an interesting way to make an entrance," Ortiz said once she got over the shock of the way the Marines had arrived on the hangar deck.

"Ran into some trouble below decks," he said as he stepped off the ammo elevator with the other three Marines following him.

"I see…if you don't mind me saying, Sergeant, you look like crap," Ortiz offered after she eyed Harbrecht's bruised face.

"Had a toaster that worked me over good; but ultimately I got in the last hit," he said with a smile before grimacing and grabbing the left side of his rib cage, "I think I may need to see a doctor."

"I'll have Lieutenant Wyatt fly you back to the _Ark_. Do you need help to the Raptor?" she asked.

Harbrecht shook his head emphatically. "I'm a Marine. If I'm able to walk somewhere then I damn well intend to."

"Understood," she said before looking at the other three Marines, "Private Reyes, you look like you have a nasty bump there on your head. Why don't you go with Sergeant Harbrecht over to the _Ark_ so the doc can look you over?"

Reyes felt the spot where she probably hit her head on something. It did not feel very painful, but she realized that Commander Ortiz probably wanted someone to accompany Harbrecht just in case he did need help.

"Aye, Commander," she said as she quickly caught up to Harbrecht.

"Commander, I assume you want me to take charge of the Marines," Dahlgren said.

Ortiz nodded. "I have no problem with that. For now I want us to stop exploring the ship and focus on getting the supplies and personnel unloaded."

**Five Days Later:**

_**Ark Royal**_**, Commanding Officer's Quarters: **

"That completes the transfer of the crew and supplies off the _Kios_," Ortiz said as she took a seat on one of the sofas in what had been her quarters.

"We have an air wing, we have pilots, and we have stocked up on all the equipment and supplies we can get off the_ Kios_. Did Sergeant Harbrecht find any more Cylons on his last sweep of the ship?" Charka asked.

Ortiz shook her head. "He said that any they encountered were promptly dealt with. He says these seemed to have been specifically adept at close quarters combat, so he worked out a plan for his Marines to follow and they made short work of the toasters."

"That man is one tough SOB; he didn't care how many ribs he broke, he was determined to lead his Marines in cleaning the _Kios_ of any Cylons still onboard," Charka said after taking a sip of water.

"From what he has told me about his time with the Marines he has had plenty of chances to prove himself in combat. It still bothers me why the Cylons were on the _Kios_ in the first place and why they never tried to kill the ship's crew that was still onboard."

Charka shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly wish I could tell you but for the life of me I can't figure it out. Were your people able to get the ship fully operational again?"

Ortiz shook her head, "We were able to power up some of the systems and launch the Vipers and Raptors, but most of the systems were not responsive. There were some we tried to restart they would seem to work briefly but would shut back down. I don't think the Cylons intended for the _Kios_ to do anything but stay in place."

"I was worried that it might be a trap of some sort, but it's been almost a week now and still so sign of the Cylons," Charka said before adding, "Either way we both got what we wanted."

Ortiz nodded. "We're both going to leave this system happy. I think the only thing that would make me happier would be if we could get the _Kios_ fully operational so you would have me completely out of your hair."

Charka laughed. "It did get a little tense there. Tell you what; when we have everything put away, you can your team can board the ship and try to get it up and running again."

Ortiz allowed a smile to come to her face. "If we can pull that off I think I'll take back almost every bad thing I've said or thought about you."

"You'll take back almost every bad thing?"

"We just found a gold mine of personnel and materiel to put me in a good mood, so that sounds about right," she joked.

Charka held up his hands in mock surrender. "I can't exactly argue with you."

Ortiz looked at the clock on the wall behind Charka and stood up."I'm going to go see how Chief Lancaster is doing with sorting our bounty on the hangar deck."

"If you need me, I'll be in the CIC once the watch turns over."

**Two Hours, Twenty-Four Minutes Later:**

_**Ark Royal**_, CIC:

"All's quiet over there," Colonel Patrick Killian said as he walked up to the Command and Control Station.

"I hope that's a good sign and not some sort of bad omen," Charka said as he looked up from a report he had been reading.

"It's hard to believe that the Cylons shut down an entire battlestar and just left it along with most of its crew just waiting to be discovered," Killian said as though he was unburdening something that had been on his mind for some time.

Charka shrugged his shoulders. "I can't claim to know exactly what the Cylons are thinking or why they've done what they've done. Even trying to imagine having so much hatred for us that they would want to wipe us out to the last person is a little big to think about."

Killian allowed a slight smile. "Yeah but what are what are they trying to do? That's what makes finding the _Kios_ so strange; I'm honestly waiting for some big twist to be revealed like in the movies."

The doors to the CIC slid open and in walked a man along with a person holding a camera.

"Commander Charka," the man said as he walked up and shook hands with the Commander, "I am Nasib Imad and with me is my camera man, Ahmad Tanjim. I cannot thank you enough for allowing us to film you and your crew in action here in the CIC."

Charka shook Imad's hand, "It's a pleasure to have an award-winning journalist onboard our ship. Especially the one who won the Niamh Award."

Imad's eyes lit up with pride at hearing of his recognition from the previous year, "My time spent embedded with the New Green Army on Caprica was an interesting experience. We'll start filming and your crew can just go about their duties. We promise not to be more intrusive than we have to be."

Charka smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me. I only hope we can provide you with footage that won't be too boring."

Imad smiled. "Once the people on the other ships see the footage, I think you'll find yourself some new fans."

The CIC doors opened and Ortiz entered and made her way to Command and Control.

"Commander Ortiz, how goes it down on the hangar?" Charka asked.

"We've found berths for the crew and have managed to distribute most of the essential supplies where they will be needed," she said.

"You made quick work of that," Charka said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It wasn't too hard with the help of the deck gang," Ortiz said when she noticed the camera pointing in her direction she asked, "What's going on?"

"Mr. Imad was at Lampetia filming a story on the _Ark_'s deactivation when the Cylons attacked. He and his cameraman have been onboard since then. I thought it would be a good idea to have them film the ship and crew in their daily routine. Is there a problem with that, Commander? I'm sure you've been filmed in the past."

Ortiz leaned in so that only he could hear what she was going to say. "Of course I have, I just wasn't expecting that when I walked in here."

"Don't worry, Commander Ortiz, if there is anything you want edited out just let me know," Imad quickly offered.

'If only my boyfriend had been that way back at the Academy,' she thought before adding, "Thank you, I greatly appreciate the offer."

"Commander, Cylon baseship has jumped in at the far end of the system," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler, the Tactical Officer, announced.

"Call Action Stations, set Condition One throughout the ship. Prepare the FTL to jump away," Charka said before turning his attention back to Ortiz, "We're jumping away, I don't think we're quite ready to go up against the Cylons."

"I agree with you, the faster we can get out of here the better," Ortiz agreed.

"Action Stations, Action Stations…set Condition One throughout the ship," Chandler's voice blared over the ship.

"I'm sorry for leaving the_ Kios_ behind, I know you wanted your own ship," Charka said to Ortiz.

She smiled, "Easy come, easy go. Right now we just need to get out of here."

"FTL is ready," Chandler announced.

"Excellent, jump the ship to the Morgaine System," Charka ordered.

The _Ark Royal_ shuddered as though it were a person shivering in a blizzard before coming to a standstill. The lights in the CIC and in other parts of the ship flickered off before the emergency lights came on.

"This can't be good," Ortiz said.

"Couldn't have put it any better myself," Charka said.

Both Commanders realized that right now they were on a ship that had just lost its power and was drifting in space a powerless hulk. If they could not get the _Ark Royal_ operational again, then they were as good as dead.


	6. Chapter 6: Facing Death

**Chapter Six: Facing Death**

**Battlestar **_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"What just happened?" Commander Caden Charka asked the instant the shock wore off.

Commander Audra Ortiz blinked her eyes as the fog of confusion began to leave her mind. "I have no idea, but if we don't get an answer we're going to be screwed."

Charka wasted no time in taking the receiver out of its cradle and pressing the number combination that would allow him a direct line to Engineering. "Chief, what's going on down there?"

"I have no idea." the tense voice of Chief Engineer George Halliday said before adding, "I have my people scouring every section to see if there's some mechanical problem."

Charka nodded even though Micallef was not there to see it. "Let me know if you find something."

"I take it he has no idea what happened," Ortiz said.

Charka shook his head. "Not a clue but he has his people looking into it. Anything from Tactical?"

Ortiz held up a finger. "Let me go check on that."

For reporter Nasib Imad, this was a scene the likes of which he had only imagined catching. "Quick, Ahmad, focus the camera on the Commanders!"

Ahmad Tanjim panned his camera around the CIC and made sure he got shots of Commander Charka conversing with his XO, Colonel Patrick Killian, and footage of Commander Ortiz in what appeared to be a brainstorming session with the officer at Tactical.

"Here in this moment of crisis we see the crew of the _Ark Royal_ hard at work on trying to return power to the ship and escape the clutches of the Cylons," Imad began his commentary before adding, "If for some reason they fail at this I can only imagine the consequences being dire…"

"Would you mind staying out of the way and adding your commentary after we're out of this?" Ortiz asked without concealing her irritation.

"You took the words out of my mouth," Charka agreed.

"Very well then, we'll just stay over here in this corner where you can't see us," Imad said as he and Tanjim moved from where they were stationed.

"That was a bit rude," Tanjim whispered.

Imad nodded and whispered, "Some people simply don't have the proper respect for journalists…"

_**Ark Royal**_**, Sick Bay: **

Master Sergeant John Harbrecht stirred in his hospital bed when the lights flickered out and the emergency lighting came on. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it, Sarge, we're probably just having some technical issues," Alexandra Zahn, the nurse who had been tending to him the past days, said as she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Of course it is," Harbrecht said not sounding quite so convinced, especially when he considered the slight shake in the nurse's hand.

"Just relax and stay in your bed, you're still not cleared to return to duty and Doc Laverso is going to have my head," Zahn said as she placed a slightly firmer hand on his chest to keep him from trying to sit up.

"Were my injuries really as bad as he said they were?" Harbrecht asked. He had heard Doctor Carmine Laverso when the doctor gave him the evaluation. The phrase 'Lucky to be alive' was used more often than he had been comfortable with. Even so he had to at least make the attempt to get out of bed; this was no place for a Marine Master Sergeant to be.

"Yes they were, and if you try to get out of this bed again I will have to take matters into my own hands," Zahn warned.

Harbrecht admired the black-haired nurse with a slightly mischievous look when he asked, "Are you going to distract me by giving me a kiss?"

"Nice try but we've only gotten to know each other a few days and I don't kiss during the first week."

"Well, then I guess that means there's no way you're going to keep me in this bed while Gods-knows-what is taking place," Harbrecht said it was then that he sat up in bed and swung his legs over the side so he could stand up.

"The drugs should be taking effect any second now," Zahn said casually as she removed the needle of the syringe from where she had administered the drugs into the IV.

"What drugs?" Harbrecht asked as he began to feel woozy.

Zahn maneuvered him back into a lying down position, "Only the best for my favorite Master Sergeant. Now you get some rest and I promise you'll feel better for it in the morning."

Harbrecht tried to say something but instead his eyes rolled back into his head and his eyelids closed as he made his way back to the dream world he had been in earlier.

"How's our Marine doing?" Head Nurse Nancy Regders asked as she walked over to bed.

"Sleeping like a baby," Zahn said with a proud smile on her face.

"Did he try to get out of bed again? Last time he was being stubborn about being ready for duty and whatnot," Redgers said as she tried to suppress a giggle. In her time as a nurse in the Colonial Fleet she had found that the Viper pilots and the Marines in particular tended to be the most persistent about knowing more about their medical status than the doctors and nurses.

"He thought he had a chance but I slipped him some Morpha and it sent him back to sleep," Zahn said and quickly added, "I have to thank you for the idea, he had no idea I had the syringe nearby until it was too late to stop me."

"You're welcome; now let's get back to checking on our other patients. The last thing we need is for them to get panicked by whatever emergency is going on right now."

_**Ark Royal**_**, Hangar Deck: **

"What do you mean you can't launch us?" Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter asked incredulously as the mechanical specialist calmly told him that there was no way to launch Vipers.

"I thought you people knew all the little shortcuts to make things work in a time like this," Captain Alisa 'Dagger' Stark said in the time tone that Hunter was using.

"I'm telling you this is just like what we experienced on the _Kios_," Captain John Waldron III said before adding, "They shut down the power on the ship and then they boarded and took prisoners."

"I'll tell you the same thing Specialist Simms has been telling you, without main power there is no way we can get the launch tubes operational which means that you are trapped on this ship with the rest of us," Chief Reginald Lancaster said.

"Chief, there's got to be some way we can at least get the Vipers in position so that when power does come back on we can get launched more quickly," Hunter suggested.

"We're still in our flight suits and can fly at a moment's notice," Waldron added.

"I'm sure there's got to be more you can do than stay here and be all doom and gloom like everyone else seems to be right now," Stark said.

"I'll have the Vipers moved in position and when the power returns you can launch. I just need you to go get more pilots," Lancaster said after mulling over the proposition.

Eastern Alliance Flagship _Balius_:

Magnus Ah-Mun, known to those in the Eastern Alliance as the Grand Admiral and to those in Colonial Society as the Pirate King, sat in his chair and looked up at the DRADIS monitor showing the formation of Cylon baseships and the battlestar that had yet to either retreat from the Cylons or try to engage them in combat.

He knew he could at least give the Cylons a short fight before having to retreat, and even then there was the chance that his force could be destroyed. He had a Cylon War era battlecruiser that served as his flagship, three pre-Cylon war cruisers that he had taken possession of and refitted, and a small grouping of merchant vessels that had been captured and turned into auxiliary cruisers. He could get in a few hits but there was no telling how long the Eastern Alliance forces could hold their own.

Even though he had served in the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon War, Magnus had little love for a group that, before the Cylons attacked, would have been happy to have wiped him and his people out for good. Officially he claimed that he ran a private security company that contracted out to people who needed some military-grade muscle without having to bring in the actual military. Truth of the matter was that he was a pirate and in his humble opinion he was damn good at it. That was part of what led him to this moral quandary. He could save his forces to fight another day or he could come to the aid of this battlestar that clearly was in need of some assistance.

"Beyer, set me up a video conference with my lieutenants in my on-duty cabin," Magnus said as he got out of his seat to leave CIC for the adjoining room that served as his On Duty Cabin.

"I have the deck," Colonel Otto Stein, the _Balius_' XO, said as Magnus left the room.

Minutes later the faces of Mike Conyers, Fred Spavero, Susan Helms, Krista Thurman, and Alton Mathis filled the squares that made of the video display in the office. These were Magnus' top lieutenants and the ones who, over the years, had earned his trust through their actions with the Eastern Alliance.

"There's a Colonial Fleet battlestar in distress. I'm weighing whether or not to come to its aid," Magnus said.

"Forget about them, sir, the Colonial Fleet has been nothing but a thorn in our side," Mathis said.

"That was then; right now we need to get all the help we can if we hope to survive," Thurman countered.

"If the situation were reversed I doubt they would come to our aid; while I don't agree with Alton's methods I can't argue with his logic on this one," Helms said.

"It's not like all Colonial Fleet officers are mindless robots like the Cylons," Conyers interjected.

"Maybe, but the fact remains that they are still the enemy. It's not like the Cylons have attacked us yet. We just sit this out for now and we can deal with the Colonial Fleet on our terms," Helms added.

"That's true but how much longer will it be until they find us?" Conyers said before adding, "They're targeting both military and civilians according to the reports we intercepted. This isn't the time to say that the enemy of my enemy is our friend."

Magnus made his decision and knew there would be no going back from it. "Get your ships ready to attack the Cylons; we're going with the Pontotoc Plan for this attack. Dismissed!"

With the connection severed Magnus returned to the CIC and sat down in his command chair and looked up at the display screen showing the formation of the different task forces. There were three groups of ships that made up the three Eastern Alliance task forces. The_ Balius_, Magnus' flagship, was the largest ship in the Alliance fleet. Behind it were the pre-Cylon War era cruisers _Ulysses, Autzen, Ravanna, Tiberinus_, and _Soranus._ A mix of converted civilian ships rounded out the pirate fleet. Taking on a Cylon baseship was probably going to be suicidal but Magnus realized that without his help, more than likely the battlestar was doomed.

_**Ark Royal**_**, Main Engineering: **

"Can someone tell me what is going on out there?" Chief Engineer George Halliday called out from his control station in Main Engineering.

"We're going through the systems, Chief, we haven't found anything yet," Engineer Second Class Eric Marchant said.

"Well work faster, we don't have a lot of time to play around!" Halliday said and under his breath he swore a string of curses his family back on Canceron would have shaken their heads at.

"Chief, I think we found the problem!" one of the electricians shouted as he ran to the control station.

Halliday looked at the man and it took a moment for him to recognize the young man. Electrician Antonio Sierro took a deep breath before replying with, "Someone has sabotaged the ship."

Halliday was dumbstruck at first before he said, "Are you sure?"

Sierro nodded. "We found several of the relay wires that powered the main generators severed. We found a knife nearby; whoever was doing this must have been startled and dropped it."

Halliday held out his hand. "Hand me the knife."

Sierro did as he was instructed and waited to see what the Chief would say next.

"I want you to gather as many of the electricians as you can and bypass the severed connections and get power restored to the main generators; get moving!"

"Aye, aye, Chief," Sierro said as he bolted from the control station to carry out his orders.

Halliday looked at the knife and saw that it bore the initials 'T. A. S.'. "I wonder if that's Electrician's Mate Snow."

He knew he did not have time to ponder the identity of the knife's owner, his department had to get the power restored to the _Ark Royal_ or else the entire thing would become an academic discussion.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"We've been sabotaged," Ortiz said after she received the report from Halliday.

Charka was momentarily stunned. "How did that happen?"

"Looks like someone severed the power lines to the relay wires to the main generators; that is why we lost power so suddenly," Ortiz paused as she pondered how to phrase the next part of what she was going to say. "If they can't get the power restored then we're as good as dead."

"What's the Chief doing about it?" Charka asked.

"He's got his people attempting to bypass the severed lines and get power going again. I asked him how quickly he would have the work done and he simply said ASAP, so here's to hoping we'll be able to fight back against the Cylons before it's too late."

Charka pressed his thumb and forefinger against his temples and massaged. "That's really all we can ask for. I want word sent to the squadrons that they should be ready to launch as soon as power is restored and then I want the Marines to search this ship for whoever sabotaged us."

Ortiz thought for a moment then said, "When we find who it is we'll need to question him or her until we get a satisfactory answer."

Charka chuckled, "Personally I'd rather just shoot whoever it is out an airlock and have the whole thing over with."

"Well that would give some personal satisfaction, I'd rather we get the intel first and then decide what to do."

"Commander Ortiz, your concern has been noted. We'll discuss this after we're out of this mess," Charka quickly said.

"Very well, if you need me I'll be over at Tactical to see how the repairs are going," Ortiz said before turning to walk over to the Tactical Station. For now, she would keep her attention on the reports coming in from Engineering.

"I see you and Commander Ortiz are butting heads again," Colonel Patrick Killian, the _Ark_'s XO, said in an amused tone.

Charka looked up and shook his head. "We have different philosophies and unfortunately situations like this bring them to a head. Do you Libranites have any good luck phrases that you would use for times like this?"

Killian shook his head. "None that I think would do this justice. Then again, I've gotten along fairly well with Colonel Hawkins; I think in a few more weeks I may be able to address her by either her last name or even her first."

"I can't say I've taken the time to get to know her; all I can tell you about her is that she was Ortiz's XO and is now in charge of selecting the candidates we train for either Vipers or Raptors."

Killian thought it over. "With the pilots from the _Kios_ do we really need to keep doing that?"

Charka grimly nodded. "We're going to lose pilots as we fight the Cylons and that's a battle of attrition I have no intention of losing if I can help it."

Killian had to agree with the logic. "Here's to hoping we survive long enough to train new pilots."

**Eastern Alliance Flagship **_**Balius**_**, CIC: **

"Let's hurry up and get those guns ready," Magnus shouted to his Tactical Officer.

"Sending orders now, Admiral," Teluk Saleh said as he sent out the orders to the turret captains on the _Balius_. What Magnus did not hear were the various Tauron curses he muttered under his breath when he was not communicating with the captains.

"Excellent," Magnus said as he looked up at the _Balius_' DRADIS screen that showed the Cylon baseship was edging closer to where the stranded battlestar had come to a stop.

"Are you sure this is something you should be doing?" a familiar woman's voice said from behind.

Magnus turned his command chair around and smiled when he saw his elder daughter, Sarita Torrence, was standing behind him.

When he did not immediately respond she said, "There's some concern about going to the aid of this ship."

'Gods, how she's hated the Colonial military,' he thought before he said; "Right now I'm willing to put all of my history with the Colonial Fleet aside to come to their aid. As soon as the baseship is destroyed we'll jump out of the system and they won't even know we were here."

Torrance got close enough so that only her father could hear her. "You may not have put all of your history with the Colonial Fleet behind you."

Magnus wanted to say something to the contrary but knew it would be impossible to hide. "I'm a veteran of the Cylon War and even now it's hard to turn off those feelings of loyalty to the Colonial Fleet."

"My mother would have found that weak," she said. Her mother, Isabella Torrance, ran a smuggling ring out of the city of Iscalis on Virgon where she met Magnus Ah-Mun.

"Your mother was a strong woman, but even she would have understood what I'm doing," Magnus replied before adding, "Go back to your station and when this is over we'll have dinner and discuss the finer points of my strategy."

Torrance gave a quick nod before saluting her father and returning to her station in the CIC.

Moments later the guns of the Eastern Alliance ships came to life as the gun barrels hurled their shells toward the Cylon baseship with lethal accuracy.

The baseship launched its Raiders, which were promptly met with a withering barrage of flak from the Eastern Alliance ships. Even so, some of the Raiders were able to make it through the flak screen and their sights were set on the enemy ships that had come between them and their prey.

'Even when you sent your ships to the scrap yard you still helped me out,' Magnus thought with a smile. He smiled at how well his years of equipping his ships with military hardware had paid off. It had actually not been that difficult for him, bribe the right salvage yard official and a wealth of merchandise could be had. One of the 'legitimate' businesses the Eastern Alliance ran was to escort merchant vessels that were worried about being targeted by the Erebea or other pirate groups.

The _Balius_ shuddered as the Cylon shells impacted against its hull but the heavy armor was enough to keep major damage from getting through. Magnus could only hope that the armor of his other ships would hold up as well against the enemy onslaught.

"Sir, our guns have scored direct hits along the baseship's axis," Saleh paused as he took in the new information, "The Raiders appear to be withdrawing to the baseship."

Magnus looked up at the DRADIS screen and he could not help but smile at the retreating ships. "If I were still flying a Viper I'd be pursuing them right now."

"Your orders for the gun crews?" Saleh asked.

"Have them continue firing. I don't want our guns to fall silent until that baseship is either destroyed or has left the system," Magnus said.

His mind went back to his days as a Viper pilot during the Cylon War, in particular his days as a pilot on the Battlestar _Delphi_.The _Delphi_, like the other battlestars in its class, had been converted from the hull of a cruiser, and while it was perhaps the smallest battlestar he had served on he felt certain camaraderie among the crew. Landing his Viper on her was in some ways more of a challenge than landing on the larger battlestars. He remembered feeling a pang of sadness the day he learned his beloved ship had been lost in action against the Cylons.

His mind was drawn out by Saleh's voice exclaiming, "The baseship has left the system; we scared them away!"

A loud cheer erupted from the CIC crew and Magnus allowed them to have their moment. He was not sure if he would have called it a victory but in times like this it was necessary to find whatever silver lining that could be found. He felt a hand pat him on the shoulder and he turned in his chair to find his daughter staring at him with a smile.

"Sarita, I think I know what you're going to say," he said.

"That you were being unnecessarily reckless with our lives by coming the aid of the ungrateful Colonial Fleet, yes that was something I was thinking. But now, I think you know how happy we are to fight for you."

Magnus nodded. "Between you and Stadra I think I have the best pair of daughters a man could ask for."

"Ah yes, my perfect half-sister…it's hard to believe that she and I have the same father."

Magnus took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You know her mother led a different life than yours did. However, let's get back to the business at hand. I think it's time for us to retreat back to our home and lay low. I think we've rendered enough aid."

"I can't argue with your logic, Admiral, the Pallas Nebula sounds like the perfect place for us."

Magnus released his daughter's hand. "Pass the word to all ships that we are to prepare for an immediate jump."

As the word spread along the Eastern Alliance ships, the FTL drives were spooled up and were followed by a brilliant series of flashes as the ships jumped out of the system.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

Charka and Killian were sorting through the recent batch of reports that Ortiz has brought over from Tactical. The reports coming in from Engineering were encouraging; it seemed that a temporary fix was in the works that would hopefully allow the power to be turned back on.

Charka put down the report he had been reading. "I have to give them credit; they were able to work out a solution."

Killian had something on his mind and decided now was as good of a time as any. "Is it a bit odd to you that the Cylons haven't fired on us yet?"

Charka thought it over. "You know what, that is strange. They have us right where they want us and they haven't fired a shot."

Ortiz walked up to Command and Control. "The Chief says that as soon as you give the word he'll try to turn the lights back on."

Charka nodded his head. "Tell him to give it a try."

"Let's see how it goes," Killian said once Ortiz had made her way to the Damage Control Station located next to Tactical.

"She seems to be less…confrontational than before," Charka commented.

"We're in sort of an emergency right now, maybe it's brought out a change in her," Killian said.

_**Ark Royal**_**, Hangar Deck:**

"What is going on out there?" Stark asked.

"I'm not sure, I just want to get my Viper out there and start shooting down some Cylons," Ensign Hermes Otaro said as he walked up to where the small group of pilots stood.

Waldron addressed Hunter and Stark, "Allow me to introduce Ensign Hermes 'Thumper' Otaro. The _Kios _was his first assignment, and would have been his last if your ship hadn't come along.

"Well, Thumper, it's great that you're so eager to help out but until these lights come back on and power is restored, we're not going to be able to do much of anything," Hunter said.

"Unless the Cylons board us then it's the _Achilles _all over again," Stark said.

"Bad example, right now," Waldron said.

"I have to agree," Hunter said. The _Achilles_ that Stark was referring to was the Battlestar _Achilles_, a ship that been boarded during the Cylon War and had been lost with all hands when it commenced an FTL jump shortly before the ship had been lost to the Cylons.

"Maybe, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Everyone at the Academies is taught about what happened to the _Achilles_ and this feels eerily similar," Stark said in an attempt to defend herself.

"That's the last thing we need people here to start thinking about," Waldron retorted.

"I take it you and your pilots thought about that more than you wanted to," Hunter said.

"You could say that," Waldron said before adding, "Trapped on a battlestar that had been deactivated and boarded by the Cylons. How could a person's mind not start thinking of it?"

The conversation became muted as the lights in the hangar flickered on then quickly went off for a few seconds before coming back on again.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Otero asked.

"I don't want to wait to see if they go out again," Hunter said before turning his attention to Chief Lancaster. "Hey, Chief, can you get us launched while the power is back on?"

Lancaster barked out a series of orders to his deck gang to get the Vipers ready for launching. "We'll get you out there while we can."

Seven minutes later the Vipers were launched out of their tubes.

Hunter looked at the sight that awaited him and was stunned at first. "Are any of you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"If you're referring to the destroyed Raiders off in the distance, it's nice to know I'm not the only one with that problem; I was worried I was going crazy," Stark chimed in.

"Something destroyed those Raiders, but the question is…who?" Waldron asked.

"At least we know why the Cylons didn't attack us, something already had them occupied," Otero added.

"Yeah, but who was it…" Hunter said as he tried to think of the possibilities.

"It had to have been another battlestar or some other part of the Fleet that survived," Stark said.

"Whoever it was, if they are still alive when we find them I'm going to buy their CO a drink," Waldron said.

"If we can't find them, I'll be happy to accept in their place," Otero quickly added.

The wireless in Hunter's helmet came to life with Charka's voice. "Archangel, this is Actual; what do you see out there?"

"Actual, this is Archangel, we have Raiders that have been destroyed but we have no idea who it was that took them out."

There was a long pause before Charka said, "I want you and your pilots back onboard. Tactical will look over your camera footage."

"We're heading back, what's going to happen to the _Kios_?" Hunter asked.

"The scuttling charges are being remote detonated, there'll be enough time for you to land and us to jump out of here before they explode," Charka said.

"Commander, is that such a good idea?" Waldron asked.

"We'll weaken our forces with two battlestars, and I don't want the _Kios_ to serve as a trap for another ship that finds it way here," Charka said before adding, "It's not a point for debate, I've already heard an earful from Commander Ortiz on the matter and I don't want to hear any more."

"You heard the Commander, let's get back onboard before the _Kios_ blows," Hunter said as he turned his Viper back towards the Ark.

"Right behind you, CAG," Stark said.

As soon as the Vipers landed, the _Ark Royal_ disappeared in a flash of light as it jumped back to the Mjolnir Anchorage. Minutes later the _Kios_ exploded as the scuttling charges did the job that they had been designed for.

**Mjolnir Anchorage: **

Mjolnir Anchorage had been upgraded in the years since its construction, the top of the facility had been expanded upon to provide a small berthing area for a crew, should one be needed. This area was now being put to use, though in a way that perhaps its designers had not intended.

The conference room they were seated in was small by comparison to most facilities of its type; the bare metal walls were unadorned in a way that gave the room a decidedly utilitarian feel. The plain metal conference table with matching chairs only served to add to the sparse ambiance of the room. Commanders Charka and Ortiz were joined by Commander Elina Solheim of the Escort Battlestar _Vasa_ and Commander Colton Lott of the heavy cruiser _Hadrian_. Representing the civilian ships in the _Ark Royal_'s fleet was Captain Leif Dawson of the heavy cargo ship _Hermitage_.

"I believe that as the Commanding Officer of the _Ark Royal_ it is only fair that I take the lead on this discussion," Charka said.

"I beg to differ," Ortiz began, "I'm the one without a command so perhaps it is best that I be the one in charge here. If we're going to utilize this anchorage as a base of some sort we need an officer to command it."

Charka shook his head. "I'm promoting Lieutenant Allison Knox to Major and assigning her to take command of Mjolnir. Seeing that the_ Illumini_ was lost in battle she needs a posting. After reading over her service record I believe she is best suited for the job."

"What about Colonel Hawkins and me? Better yet, the _Illumini_'s XO also survived, why not put him in charge of the anchorage?" Ortiz asked as she tried to keep her emotions in check. It was one thing to lose the _Kios_ because of what she believed was a rash decision to scuttle the ship; this was feeling like a slap to the face after being insulted.

"Colonel Boone is being transferred to the _Ark Royal_ to serve as my chief-of-staff; I believe that if I'm going to be the officer leading our task force then I need to have a staff to help me keep fleet operations running."

"You're telling me that you're making yourself an Admiral in all but name?" Ortiz asked.

"I've already discussed the matter with Commander Solheim and Commander Lott and both were convinced that I was the right person for the job. As commanding officers with ships to command I felt they were the best ones to decide on this course of action," Charka said matter-of-factly.

"I see," Ortiz said though she wanted to add several colorful words behind that statement.

"As you for and Colonel Hawkins, the two of you will stay on the _Ark Royal_ and continue to oversee the development of new pilots," Charka said.

"Understood," Ortiz said though she knew that there was a hint of iciness to her statement.

The door to the conference room opened and in stepped the newly-promoted Major Allison Knox. The twenty-eight year old officer from Libran appeared to be carrying herself in a way that showed she was trying to look the part of her new rank.

"I've made a list of personnel that I would like to have transferred to the base," she said as she handed a hand-written list to Charka.

"I believe most of these can be done…" Charka said as he scanned the list but his brow furrowed when he came to one name, "You want Master Sergeant Harbrecht transferred to the station, do you realize that he's still in serious condition on the _Ark Royal_?"

Knox nodded her head. "I read his report of what he did on the _Kios_ and if the anchorage is ever boarded by the Cylons he's the person I want in charge of the Marines that are posted here.

"He may not like the idea but as soon as he's able to return to duty he'll be posted here," Charka said.

Ortiz mentally thought of all the times that she had butted heads with Charka over what seemed to be the most trivial of matters yet he seemed ready to give Major Knox whatever she asked for.

"Thank you, sir, I promise that once we have the people I requested on board this anchorage will be better able to serve as our base of operations should it ever be required. If you need me I'll be in my office, I need to meet with my XO," Knox said as she turned to leave the room.

"Who was made her XO?" Solheim asked.

"That would be the newly-promoted Captain Elizabeth Harrington. She was the Communications Officer on the _Illumini_, and Major Knox requested her as XO," Charka said.

'You're approving personnel moves and passing out promotions like candy,' Ortiz thought, and she had to force the bitterness away from her mind. If she let it get the better of her than she was certain she would be of no use in this war.

"How are we going to keep this anchorage as a base of operations?" Solheim asked.

"I've been thinking of that and I believe we can," Charka began, "We can take what supplies that can be spared from the civilian ships and also take the various munitions and other items we salvaged from the _Kios_."

Dawson spoke up. "Exactly who is going to decide what can be spared from the civilian ships and what if we have a different idea as to what meets that standard?"

Charka was quiet for a moment. "Right now, the important thing is that we take stock of what we have and what is the best way to utilize it. We can make this work to the advantage of both us and the civilians. Worst case scenario, those who help us will find themselves under our protection and those who resist may find themselves on their own."

"So you're saying that if any of those ships don't go along with your ideas then you'll simply leave them to die?" Ortiz asked incredulously.

"That's the simple fact of our situation. Right now they need us a lot more than we need them," Charka stated.

"Anything else you have in mind?" Lott asked.

"I'm going to have the _Vasa _and the _Hadrian_ tasked with helping to keep the anchorage safe, and if we should come across any other Colonial Fleet ships then they can be added to the task force," Charka said.

"If we're going to be here defending the anchorage then what is the _Ark Royal_ going to do?" Lott asked.

"We're going to continue to search for survivors, there is a lot of space out there and I'm sure the Cylons couldn't have destroyed the entire fleet in one day," Charka responded.

"Going by your plan, the _Vasa_ is going to be the flagship of whatever group is going to end up defending the anchorage," Solheim said.

"That is correct, and you will answer only to me. There is a chance that some of the civilian ships could be turned into military vessels with the right modifications," Charka said.

Dawson spoke up. "There's no dock available to carry out those modifications, and what are you going to do with the crews?"

"I'm going to look carefully and see if it will be possible to convert selected ships without the need to use a dock of some kind. Those crew wishing to stay on will have the chance and those who wish to leave will either find themselves on the anchorage or on one of the other ships in civilian fleet," Charka said.

"I'll pass the word along to the civilian captains, but I can't promise they'll all be thrilled with the idea," Dawson said.

Charka shrugged. "That's their problem to sort out. Meanwhile, this meeting is adjourned and you may return to your ships. Commander Ortiz, could you stay behind?"

When the three people left the room Charka said, "You're not very happy with me are you?"

Ortiz shook her head, "I won't deny it."

"I know you wanted the _Kios_, but if we had stayed and tried to get it up and running we'd have put ourselves out there for the Cylons to come back and find us. You may not want to admit but our cover was blown and there was no way we could have safely stayed there."

"You didn't even try; you just remote detonated the scuttling charges and jumped away. There are not many battlestars left out there, so I think destroying one we could have used was a bit of a waste," Ortiz pleaded.

"For all we know there could be other battlestars out there, not every commanding officer out there would have gone out of their way to engage the Cylons. Now as for why I didn't give you command of this anchorage…that answer could be harder to explain but understand that I need you to oversee the development of our new pilots."

Ortiz immediately shot back. "We have the pilots and Vipers from the_ Kios_ now, and I'm pretty damn sure they don't need to be trained!"

"That may be, but we need pilots to take their places in case something happens to our trained pilots. Without an air group of our own we need every person who can fly a Viper. The _Vasa_ could probably use pilots and then the _Hadrian_ could use Raptor pilots also."

"I know you're right but it doesn't mean I have to like it," Ortiz admitted.

"I won't force you too, a statement like that has to come from the heart in order for it to sound sincere," Charka said.

"Well now that I've established that, I'll head back to the _Ark_ and coordinate the next phase of training with Colonels Hawkins and Thomas," Ortiz said.

Charka nodded, "You do that, I'm going to stay here and tour the facility."

With Ortiz gone he was alone to ponder what was to come. He had a small force and an anchorage that was to double as a base of operations. He had his doubts though. How long could these ships stay hidden from the Cylons, and how much of a fight could they put up? The other problem was what to do with Audra Ortiz; at the rate things were going between them it was only a matter of time until a minor disagreement could escalate into a war that would easily involve the crew of the _Ark Royal_. If there was a way to keep that from happening he would, but was it something that was inevitable?


	7. Chapter 7: A Game of Chance

_**Ark Royal**_**, Chapter Seven: A Game of Chance**

**Mjolnir Anchorage, Commanding Officer's Quarters: **

Newly-promoted Major Allison Knox sat down and let out a long sigh. It was a lot for her take in, and there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind asking her if she was truly ready for this. Perhaps it was the result of her parents' expectations of near-perfection for their only child that planted the seeds of self-doubt or maybe it was the residue left from the feelings of hopelessness she felt when the _Illumini_ was lost.

She had wondered what they would say if they were here to see her now. They would have probably found some kind of fault with how she had managed to survive or some other thing that she could have done to have improved her situation.

The door opened and Commander Charka entered the room.

"Commander, what can I do for you?" Knox asked.

"Just wanted to check and see how you were settling in," Charka said.

"Getting settled in as well as I can; it's an interesting place to be," Knox admitted.

"I know you're going to be just fine; I wouldn't have put you in this position if I didn't think you were up to the job," Charka said reassuringly.

Knox smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. I think I can do the job of turning this anchorage into a major asset."

"That's why I picked you for this job, you're more than qualified to carry out the work that needs to be done," Charka said.

"It may take me some time to get organized but once that's done I'll have this running smoothly," Knox said with confidence.

"That's what I like to hear, because now more than ever we need a base of operations where we can take the fight to the Cylons," Charka said before turning to leave the station.

"It looks like we're moving up in the worlds," Captain Elizabeth Harrington, Knox's XO on Mjolnir Anchorage, said after Charka had left the room.

"It's not where I imagined myself being when all this started but I won't complain," Knox said.

"You always talked about how you would get command one day, I don't imagine either one of us thought it would happen so quickly," Harrington said.

"A lot of things have happened lately that nobody saw coming," Knox said as she shuffled through a list of crew that would be coming over to the anchorage.

"Which one of you is the CO?" the gruff voice of an older man said from the entrance to the room.

"That would be me," Knox said before asking, "Who would you be?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas," Thomas said as he entered the room, "Commander Charka decided that I could be of use to you."

"Colonel Thomas, I know this may seem kind of odd with you outranking me," Knox said.

"I am here as an advisor. I'm not exactly up to the Colonial Fleet's physical standards," Thomas said with a nod of his head towards the hand that held his gold-plated cane.

"You're here as an advisor?" Harrington asked.

"That's correct. Commander Charka thought it best that you have someone who can help you to prepare this station quickly, and since I'm no longer needed for Viper training he thought it'd best that I come to the station and help you," Thomas said.

Knox was quiet for a moment, "Commander Charka did not mention any of this but I'm glad to have you here, I know your assistance will be valuable."

"If we're going to survive this you're going to need all the help you can get," Thomas said before turning to leave the room.

"We have a grizzled former Viper pilot to serve as an advisor, this is going to be interesting," Harrington muttered.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Knox said as she began to look at the names of the crew who would be coming over to the anchorage.

**Eighteen Minutes Later:**

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"Commander, there's a distress call coming in over the emergency channel," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward announced from his station at Communications.

"On speaker," Commander Caden Charka ordered.

Moments later the sound of a panicked man's voice came over the speakers in the CIC.

"This is Captain Edgar Yates of the merchant vessel _Castell Arnallt_; we need immediate assistance!"

"Let's get ready for departure," Charka said before asking, "Where's Commander Ortiz?"

"She was heading over to the _Vasa_ for a meeting with Commander Solheim," Colonel Patrick Killian said.

"Did she have permission to do that?" Charka asked. He could not help but feel suspicious of what Ortiz may be up to.

"She said it fell under the duties she had been assigned, so I suppose that it is why she didn't mention it," Killian said.

"One day she and I are going to have to come to an understanding," Charka muttered before turning his attention to Woodward. "Get me a hold of Commander Solheim on the _Vasa_."

Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler came up to Command and Control with a printout, "We were able to identify the following vessels from their civilian ID codes."

"Thank you, Colonel," Charka said as he took the paper and glanced over the names.

"How many do we have?" Killian asked.

"According to this report the ships are the _Culberson, Othello, Sentosa River, Surbiton, Kaipara, Hebburn, Moonstone, Tairoa, Vallianos, Kopicka, Harlacher, Sippola,_ and _Ophelia_. That could be a healthy haul of goods for us," Charka said.

Killian nodded before asking, "Should we go ahead and leave Commander Ortiz behind?"

**Escort Battlestar **_**Vasa**_**, Commanding Officer's Quarters: **

Commander Elina Solheim filled two glasses with water and passed one to Commander Audra Ortiz before she took a seat opposite her fellow officer. The quarters on the _Vasa_ were by necessity smaller than those found on a battlestar but because of the modernization the escort battlestar had received the room looked just as modern as those found on a Mercury class ship.

"I don't know if you've wondered about this or not, but I did not give Commander Charka input on his decisions. I was as surprised as you were!" Solheim said as she took a sip of water.

Ortiz allowed herself a slight smile before she said, "I believe you; with Commander Charka it's a complicated story."

"Is there a personal history between the two of you?" Solheim asked.

"None that I was aware of until we met shortly before the first change of command ceremony a couple of years ago," Ortiz said before continuing, "When I relieved Charka as CO of the _Ark Royal_ I discovered that he had a friend who attended Abry Military Academy on Caprica. His name was Peter Bolsover and we had a brief romantic relationship as students."

"I take it that things didn't end well," Solheim said.

Ortiz shook her head. "He was part of the group that had helped organize an academic cheating ring, and when I discovered Peter was a part of it I turned him in. It seems that _he and_ Charka were as close as brothers and the scandal even managed to impact Charka's career too."

"How so?" Solheim asked.

"In the aftermath of the Tolan hearings four years ago Admiral Stryker recommended that more attention be given to the character of officers selected for promotion. If that had been the case then Scott Tolan would not have made flag rank because of his family's ties to organized crime on Canceron. Charka's career was tainted by the cheating scandal and it was something that could easily impact his hopes of making flag rank," Ortiz explained.

"Now he has a chance to pay you back for what happened," Solheim said as the pieces of the puzzle began to mentally fall into place.

The phone on Solheim's desk began to buzz and she quickly picked up the receiver, "This is the Commander."

"Commander, I've just received word from Commander Charka that Commander Ortiz is needed on the _Ark Royal_ immediately," the voice of Lieutenant Asa Gwinn, the _Vasa_'s Officer of the Deck, said through the receiver.

"Anything else I need to be aware of?" Solheim asked.

"We're supposed to stay here with the _Hadrian_ and guard the anchorage. It appears the _Ark Royal_ is going to investigate a distress call," Gwinn said.

"Tell Commander Charka that Commander Ortiz will be there as soon as I can get a Raptor readied," Solheim said and when the receiver was back in its cradle she turned her attention to Ortiz, "Looks like you're going to be needed back on the _Ark Royal_."

Ortiz let out a slight chuckle. "I guess all good things must end."

The phone began to ring and Solheim picked it up and quickly motioned for Ortiz to stay, "I understand, she's still here…I'll relay the message. Thank you."

"That was a fairly short conversation," Ortiz observed.

Solheim let out a short laugh, "It appears the _Vasa_ and the _Ark Royal_ are going to investigate this and you are going to stay here with me."

"Is it wrong that I'm oddly relieved to hear that; I think I may be more useful here. Charka and I don't exactly see eye to eye," Ortiz said.

"I kind of got that impression, let's get to the CIC and see what's waiting for us," Solheim said as she opened the hatch and started making her way to the CIC with Ortiz behind her.

_**Ark Royal**_**, Viper Squadron One Ready Room:**

Lieutenant Walter 'Thor' Kidd looked over his cards and studied the faces of the pilots sitting at the table for the impromptu friendly game of triad. Lieutenants Francis DuLac, Tomas Rios, Michael Zyla, Santo Capizzi, Otto Nikolai, and Charles Gornecki were newly arrived from their rescue from the derelict battlestar _Kios_. Also at the table were Ensigns Julius Raven and Trent Donovan, cadets from the Fleet Academy and Aquaria Military Academy who had been fast-tracked to the rank of Ensign.

"I know you are probably throwing this game out of gratitude for us getting your asses off the _Kios_, but you don't have to be so obvious about it," Kidd said to the group.

"If they're throwing the game out of gratitude then what does that say about us?" Raven asked.

Kidd shrugged. "I think the fact that you two rookies are allowed to sit at the table should explain that one away."

"We're not exactly cadets anymore," Donovan said.

"You may have got moved up to Ensigns fairly quickly but as far as I'm concerned the two of you still have something to prove," Kidd retorted.

"Do we have a friendly game going on here?" a woman's voice said from the ready room's entrance.

Kidd turned to see Captain Alisa 'Dagger' Stark standing there watching them, "We're just killing time and becoming better acquainted with one another. A friendly game of Triad works wonders for these things, plus the extra cubits can help some poor soul here buy items from the Commissary.

"Well, thank goodness that wasn't emptied after the decommissioning, otherwise we wouldn't have much to spend our cubits on," Stark said.

"Are you heading over to the CAG's office?" Kidd asked.

Stark crossed her arms and fixed him with a look, "Well I just might be, but I don't see why you have that goofy look on your face."

"Well it's just that word has gotten around that the two of you worked together in the past and that you and him would probably spend a lot of time…"

Stark arched an eyebrow. "A lot of time doing what?"

Kidd thought for a moment before he said, "Reminiscing about the old days, that's all."

Stark nodded her head. "Yeah we do talk about the old days. Major Hunter is a friend of mine after all."

"Of course, I never would have thought otherwise…" Kidd said before he got quite for a moment, "Wait a sec; you're having a go at me aren't you?"

"It was fun while it lasted," Stark admitted.

Moments later both the _Ark Royal_ and the _Vasa_ disappeared in a flash of light as the two ships jumped away from Mjolnir Anchorage.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"All divisions are reporting in that they're ready and Major Hunter reports that the air wing is ready to launch as soon as you give the word," Colonel Patrick Killian reported.

Charka nodded then motioned for Killian to join him at Command and Control.

"Sir?" Killian asked once he arrived.

"I'm going to let the _Vasa_ go in and distract the Cylons while the civilians jump away," Charka said.

"Even though it's been upgraded it's still just an escort battlestar; against five Cylon baseships it will be obliterated," Killian said as he mentally calculated the odds of the _Vasa_ against the Cylons.

"The _Ark_ is too valuable an asset to lose covering the withdrawal of the civilians. If the _Vasa_ is lost then we can at least get the survivors to bolster our numbers," Charka said.

"I know you want to keep the _Ark_ safe, I get that, but what you're doing is sacrificing a perfectly good ship and crew needlessly," Killian retorted.

"This is war, Colonel, I have to make the hard decisions and unfortunately I have to sacrifice the_ Vasa_ to save the civilians. The sad reality is that today a warship must die, but if Solheim and Ortiz are as good as everyone says they think they are then they might be able to keep the ship from getting too badly damaged."

"What you're doing is murder," Killian said.

"It's a tactical decision," Charka said in his defense.

"It's murder," Killian said.

Charka motioned with one of his hands for a Marine to come over to Command and Control.

"What can I do for you sir?" the Marine asked.

"Corporal…" Charka said as he checked the Marine's nametag, "Irelan, I want you to escort Colonel Killian to his quarters and make sure that he does not leave until I say so."

"Yes, sir. Colonel if you'd follow me," Irelan said.

"It's murder," Killian said as he walked out of the CIC with Irelan in tow.

"History will judge it otherwise," Charka said before he turned his attention to Tactical, "Colonel Chandler, a word please."

Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler walked over with a feeling of trepidation in the pit of his stomach, the crew of the CIC had seen Colonel Killian banished to his quarters and there was no telling what was to come next.

"Colonel Killian was relieved of duty because of his insubordination; will I have a similar problem with you?" Charka asked.

"No, sir, you won't," Chandler said right away.

"Excellent, I want you to send word to Chief Lancaster to cancel the launching of the Vipers. Also send a message in text form to the _Vasa_ telling them that our sublight engines and communications systems have failed," Charka said.

"Commander, our systems are working fine. The word from Engineering is that the sabotage has been fixed and won't present a problem," Chandler said.

"I'm aware of that, but I cannot risk losing the _Ark_. I want you to send the jump coordinates to the civilian ships so they can jump away while the _Vasa_ draws the fire from the Cylons," Charka ordered.

"With all due respect, Commander, I don't think this the course of action we need to take. The _Vasa_ will probably take too much damage from the Cylons," Chandler replied.

"Colonel Killian was just relieved for insubordination and you're about to make the same mistake, do you want me to confine you to your quarters and find another officer willing to do what I'm asking?" Charka asked.

Chandler was quiet for a moment before he relented, "Aye, Commander, I'll carry out your orders."

He went about carrying out Charka's orders, but there was one thing he mentally made a point to do while this was going on. He may have agreed to follow the orders Charka had given him but he did not believe that what the Commander was doing was correct. Knowing that he was not being watched he sent a message that he hoped would be received by the Vasa and find its way to Commander Ortiz, if she survived this battle it would serve the purpose of sealing the fate of Charka.

**Escort Battlestar **_**Vasa**_**, CIC: **

"Jump has been completed," Lieutenant Vittorio Moriani, the _Vasa_'s Tactical Officer, announced.

"Excellent, I want Viper Squadron One launched," Solheim ordered.

"Commander, I'm receiving a message from the _Ark Royal_. Commander Charka wants you to investigate and if needed, he can engage the _Ark_," Ensign Ishmer Brooks announced from Communications.

"Looks like we're going to be taking lead on this one," Ortiz said.

"He must not want to risk the _Ark_ unnecessarily," Solheim said.

"I can understand protecting a valuable asset, but the _Vasa_ is still a battlestar in her own right," Ortiz said.

Solheim looked up at DRADIS. "Five baseships and it looks as if they're picking apart the civilian ships one by one."

"Baseships have launched Raiders," Moriani announced.

"I want all Vipers launched," Solheim said to Moriani then turned her attention to Brooks, "Send word to the _Ark Royal_ that we're going to need their help against those baseships."

"Looks like we're going in," Ortiz said.

Solheim nodded. "We're going in; with the _Ark_ backing us up I think we'll have a chance."

Putting itself between the baseships and the remaining civilian ships the _Vasa_ headed into the fray with its guns blazing as its Vipers came barreling out of the launch tubes towards the Raiders.

The _Vasa_ shook as the Cylon missiles impacted against the hull.

Ortiz looked up at the DRADIS and noticed something. "It looks like the civilian ships are jumping away."

Solheim looked up. "That's not all I see; looks like the _Ark_ has yet to move toward us."

_**Ark Royal**_**, Hangar Deck: **

"What do you mean the orders have been rescinded?" Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter asked Chief Reginald Lancaster.

"I'm just telling you what I know; we were getting ready to launch the Vipers when word came from the CIC to abort the launch," Lancaster said.

"You've got to be kidding me; how can we fight the Cylons if we can't launch our birds?" Hunter asked.

"Not my problem. All I know is that Commander Charka left orders for all Vipers to not be launched," Lancaster said trying to keep his calm.

"What's going on here, why are they moving our Vipers away from the launch tubes?" Stark asked as she walked over to where Hunter and Lancaster were arguing.

"It would appear that Commander Charka has ordered us to stand down," Hunter said.

"That's crazy, we need to be out there defending those ships and helping the _Vasa_," Stark argued.

"I understand where you're coming from, but the orders are from the CO and you can't just go against them, if you have a problem with them I suggest you take it up with him," Lancaster said before turning to talk to a group of technicians who were not moving quickly enough for his liking.

"Believe me, I will," Hunter said as he bolted for a nearby hatch that would take him off the hangar deck.

_**Vasa**_**, CIC: **

The CIC shuddered again, this time more violently as several missiles struck the hull of the escort battlestar with more force. The crewmembers who were standing found themselves hurled to the deck with bone-jarring force.

Ortiz felt the wind leave her and for a moment she wondered if she would be able to take in another breath.

"Damage report," Solheim asked.

"Damage Control teams have been dispatched to all areas that were hit in that last salvo," Moriani reported.

"That's a relief," she said as she looked around and saw that her XO, Colonel Morten Varberg, lay unconscious on the deck from where he had been overseeing the activity of the Damage Control teams.

Ortiz stood up and got her bearings again. "It looks like the _Ark_ hasn't moved yet."

"Why the frak aren't they coming to help us?" Solheim asked.

"I wish I knew, but it looks like most of the civilian ships have already jumped away," Ortiz said and she closed her eyes as another salvo of missiles found their mark.

"Commander Ortiz, a message has just come over to you from a Lieutenant Colonel Chandler," Brooks said.

"What's that about?" Solheim asked.

"I wish I knew," Ortiz said as she headed over to Communications and read the message from Chandler.

"What is it?" Solheim asked.

Ortiz shook her head in disgust, "It looks like Commander Charka is going to sacrifice us to save the civilian ships."

"That bastard," Soheim said hotly.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Ortiz said. She was going to say more but the _Vasa _rocked from the impact of several missiles from the baseships.

"We can't take much more of this," Solheim said.

"Agreed," Ortiz said.

"Send word to the turret captains that to target the axis of the baseships, see if we can break them in two that way," Solheim ordered.

"Sending the orders now," Brooks said.

"Excellent," Solheim said before turning to Moriani, "I also want all missile tubes loaded and launched as quickly as possible; take whatever nukes we have and put them to use."

"Are you sure the nukes will work?" Ortiz asked.

"They're on a time delay so that once they punch through the hull they'll explode and destroy the ship…at least in theory," Solheim said.

"At this point in time I'm more than willing to give it a chance," Ortiz said.

"Missiles have launched," Moriani announced.

Ortiz looked up at the DRADIS where the missiles were heading towards one of the Cylon baseships.

"Come on, take out that bastard," Solheim said under her breath as though she could mentally will the missiles to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

The DRADIS showed the impact of the missiles followed moments later by the baseships disappearing from the screen.

"That's one," Ortiz said.

"It's one less than we were dealing before," Solheim said as she tried to sound at least somewhat optimistic about their chances.

"Let's hope we can take out those other four," Ortiz said as her eyes instinctively went up to the DRADIS.

"We're launching our next salvo of missiles at the nearest baseship," Solheim said.

"Excellent, how many more do we have?" Ortiz asked.

"Unfortunately, not enough to take out five baseships," Solheim looked up the screen and shook her head, "Not all of our missiles are making through to the baseship. I think the Raiders are helping to take them out."

"Looks like the toasters caught onto our plan," Ortiz said as she saw the remaining missiles from the salvo impact the baseship and once again it vanished from the screen.

"That's two bastards down, here's hoping we can get the other three," Solheim said as she began to feel a feeling of relief wash over her.

"More Raiders have broken through our flak screen and they've launched nukes our way!" Moriani shouted from Tactical.

"Frak me," Ortiz muttered before shouting, "Brace yourselves!"

Seconds later a series of violent explosions erupted along the hull of the _Vasa_ and the CIC exploded in a shower of sparks and flames as one of the missiles impacted not far from where it was located.

"Fire suppression systems are on," Moriani said once he got himself off of the deck.

Solheim was starting to stand up when another explosion rocked the ship and sent her crashing to the deck again.

"Audra, are you okay?" she asked Ortiz.

Ortiz blinked her eyes as she tried to once again come to her senses. "I'll be fine, just get the number of whatever tank just rolled over me."

"At least you still have your sense of humor," Solheim said as she walked over and helped Ortiz off the deck.

"I think it's safe to say I've felt better," Ortiz said before asking, "How's our firepower?"

Solheim looked at the reports coming in from the Damage Control teams, "Our missiles were either destroyed or the tubes were made inoperable and we lost sixty percent of our turrets."

"I'm surprised our back wasn't broken during that assault," Ortiz said.

"It was probably a close thing," Solheim said as she took in the sight of the damaged room that had just moment earlier been a pristine CIC.

"Commander, I'm receiving word from Chief Boggs," Brooks said before continuing with, "The fuel lines have ruptured in the hangar and the deck gang is trying to get the fires out."

"Design flaws, I had no idea these things would be so damn combustible," Solheim said.

"The downside to using an old escort battlestar, I'm assuming," Ortiz said.

Solheim nodded. "They built these things to hold the line against the Cylons but probably nothing along these lines."

"We need to make an emergency jump," Ortiz said as the severity of the situation began to truly dawn on her.

"Mister Moriani, I want all gun turrets set to auto target the Cylon baseships," Solheim said before turning her attention to Brooks. "I want the word passed along that the ship is to be abandoned, I want all Raptors to prepare to receive crewmembers to transfer to the _Ark Royal_."

"Are you sure it's time to abandon ship?" Ortiz asked.

Solheim solemnly nodded her head. "Even if we're able to somehow jump out of here the _Vasa_ has taken a lot of damage and I don't know if it's going to be enough for us to fully repair. Better to let her go out in a blaze of glory."

"Don't try to go down with the ship, there's too few COs out there for you to go and take one for the team," Ortiz said.

"I won't, just make sure you get off of this ship," Solheim said.

"I'm sending word to the _Ark Royal_ that we're abandoning ship, I received a typed message informing us that their primary communications system and sublight engines are offline and the ship is unable to move," Brooks said.

"How convenient," Solheim muttered before addressing the crew in the CIC, "You've done all you can now you need to save yourselves. I'm proud to call all of you my crew; you gave the name _Vasa_ a good reputation in the Fleet."

As the crew filed out of the CIC to evacuate the ship Solheim went to Tactical and finished making preparations for what she planned on doing. There was still a chance the _Vasa_ could do some damage to the Cylons in her death throes and she was going to make sure it happened. Heading to the helm the maneuvered the_ Vasa_ away from the baseships and closer to the Ark Royal. If the Ark could not come to her then she was going to bring her ship to it.

The minutes ticked by and the _Vasa_ continued to take to shudder from the numerous hits it was taking from the Cylons. The good news is that the escort battlestar had taken the heat away from the civilian ships and the ones that were FTL capable had managed to jump away.

She was not sure how long it had been but she finally received a message from Chief Boggs that he was about to board the last Raptor out with the last of the crewmembers. She looked at the exit to the CIC and saw that there was now a raging inferno outside in the corridor, there would be no escape for her and she was oddly at peace with it.

"Chief, get you and those crewmembers away from here on that Raptor. I'm staying behind to make sure what needs to be done gets done," she said and then she put the receiver down in its cradle and used the helm to maneuver the _Vasa_ towards the Cylons. With the course set she walked over to Command and Control and started the countdown for the scuttling charges.

She thought of her family back on Aerilon and realized that very soon she would be reunited with them in the afterlife. She looked up at the DRADIS and at first she saw the display of the _Vasa_ closing in on the Cylon baseships. After a few moments however she saw her husband's face and then the faces of her four children. As she mentally saw her three sons and only daughter's faces a solitary tear ran from her left eye as emotions began to get the better of her. While she may have been the only person in the CIC she was not going to die alone.

Another series of explosions rocked the ship and time she was thrown hard against the Command and Control Station, her head hit with a loud thud and she collapsed to the deck unconscious.

**Colonial Military Intelligence Stealth Raptor **_**AOR-442**_**: **

What none of the participants realized was that another group had received the distress call from the civilian ships. The stealth Raptor had jumped from two systems away to investigate the claims; only the arrival of the _Ark Royal_ and the _Vasa_ had caused it to stay on the outer edge of the battle.

Captain Coleman Smith stood behind the pilot's seat and saw the battle unfold, in the back of his mind he realized that the escort battlestar did not stand a chance.

"Looks like she's taking a beating," Flight Lieutenant Antwan Zelenka said as he saw the ship put up a fight but take a greater share of punishment.

"I wonder why that other ship isn't coming to investigate," Smith wondered as he saw the larger battlestar stay off in the distance as though it were glued in place.

"Are they abandoning ship?" Zelenka asked.

"Looks like it," Smith said as an idea began to form in his mind, "the boss says we need to bring him back some intel on the Cylons. I'm sure that ship may have something in its databanks."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Zelenka asked. He suspected that Smith was going to recommend and he was afraid it would be another crazy idea of his.

"With our technology we can easily access the computers and take what we need. When that's done we can get away from the ship before it's lost," Smith said with no small amount of confidence.

"I can get us there easily enough; those Raptors don't seem to be coming back," Zelenka said.

Smith took his seat in the co-pilot's seat. "Georges, I want the two of you ready to board that ship and head straight to the CIC."

Brothers Brian and Brandon George nodded their understanding as they quietly got their gear ready to board the ship.

"Let's do this," Zelenka said as the Raptor began moving through the debris of destroyed ships, Vipers, and Raiders.

The crew inside the Raptor got a better look at the ship and there was a collective amazement at how the ship was still intact and fighting back against the Cylons.

"She's been hit hard but still in the fight," Zelenka said with no small measure of pride.

"Right now, that's the case but there's no telling how long it will last," Smith said.

"I'm looking for the nearest airlock," Zelenka said as the Raptor maneuvered around the flames that leapt out of the large openings in the hull and the AA guns that were still operational and trying to keep the Cylon Raiders at bay.

"Make it quick," Smith said as he searched the scorched hull for something resembling an airlock.

"I think I see one up ahead," Zelenka said

"Alright, Georges, you know what to do," Smith said as the Raptor slowed down and got into position to dock with the hull.

"What about survivors?" Brian George asked.

"Survivors are secondary to our goal but if you see a chance to save someone I won't hold it against you," Smith said.

"I have a hard seal with the airlock. I recommend we put our helmets on," Zelenka said as he and Smith donned their flight helmets.

A loud whooshing sound was heard as the door to the Raptor opened and a cloud of smoke immediately began to fill the cabin. The George brothers immediately charged into the _Vasa_ to complete their impromptu mission.

"Do you think the boss is going to appreciate this?" Zelenka asked.

Smith shrugged. "I don't know but I think he's going to at least give us a gold star for effort."

"Maybe we'll find out exactly how bad the damage is from the attacks," Zelenka offered.

"We lost contact with Headquarters and none of the higher-ups have reported in over the last few days, as far as we know we're all that's left of CMI," Smith said.

A quiet fell over the two men as they waited for the Georges to return to the Raptor. They looked out the window as the Cylons kept up their assault on the ship. Minutes ticked by and both Zelenka and Smith became more and more apprehensive.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Georges returned carrying the limp form of a female officer wearing the uniform of a Commander.

"Did you get it?" Smith asked.

"Yes, sir," Brandon George said.

"Excellent, Zelenka get us out of here before it's too late!" Smith ordered.

"You don't have to order me twice," Zelenka said as he quickly disengaged the Raptor and directed the craft away from the stricken vessel in order to jump away.

The stealth Raptor jumped away with its four man crew and a badly injured but still alive Commander Solheim.

The three remaining baseships formed ranks around the stricken escort battlestar and began attacking with a renewed fury. What the Cylons on those ships did not expect was for the _Vasa_ to suddenly blow apart and for large chunks of debris from the ship to cause massive damage as they made a deadly impact with the ships.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"For the last time, Major Hunter, our sublight engines are not functioning and our communications are down so it does not make sense for me to put this ship in danger," Charka said to his CAG, trying to hide his annoyance.

"What about the _Vasa_? It's fighting five baseships on its own!" Hunter protested.

"It's the unfortunate reality of war that sometimes a ship must serve the higher purpose. The _Vasa_ has drawn the fire of the Cylons away from the civilian ships and allowed them to escape back to the anchorage."

"You're sacrificing lives that we can't afford to sacrifice, not to mention that a battlestar is hard to come by even if it's an escort battlestar," Hunter pressed as he tried not to lose his temper.

"In case you haven't realized it, the survivors from the _Vasa_ are being delivered to this ship as we speak, so there is really no need for you and your pilots to launch," Charka retorted.

"With all due respect, Commander, your short-sightedness has led you to make yet another tactical error."

Charka was quiet for a moment before he responded with, "Major Hunter you are hereby relieved of duty and are to be restricted to your quarters. The _Ark Royal_ will no longer require you as its CAG."

A Marine walked over and tried to grab Hunter by the arm but the pilot quickly shrugged it off. "I don't need you to guide me, I know the way to my own quarters."

"Sir, the last of the _Vasa_'s crew has been brought aboard," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler reported.

"Excellent, jump the ship back to Mjolnir," Charka ordered and within seconds the _Ark Royal_ made its jump.

He was looking over the civilian ships that had managed to make the jump away, the amount of supplies they could provide would go a long way toward their long-term survival at the anchorage and he was grateful for what they could provide.

There was a commotion behind him and when he turned he found himself facing a disheveled Commander Ortiz with her sidearm drawn and pointed at his face.

"Commander Charka, I am relieving you of duty," she said.

"Commander Ortiz, you survived!" Charka said.

"No thanks to you, because of your cowardice we lost a perfectly good battlestar along with Commander Solheim," Ortiz said with a distinctly cold tone in her voice.

"I know you've been through a lot but you have to understand that our sublight engines weren't working and our communications systems were down, the events were out of my hands," Charka tried to explain.

"Don't piss in my ear and tell me that it's rain," Ortiz said.

"I can't help that you refuse to believe me; that's a problem you are simply going to have to get over," Charka said.

Ortiz fixed him with a cold glare. "Thanks to you I just about lost my life on the _Vasa_; you don't get to tell me what I need to do!"

"Did the _Ark Royal_ open fire on the Cylons? I could have sworn that it was the Cylons that had done that."

"They wouldn't have been in a position to do that if you hadn't have left us out there to die!"

"You're showing the same short-sightedness that cost you your command in the first place, we're in a war and there's no time to let emotions get the better of you."

Ortiz fought the urge to pull the trigger. "You want to talk about emotions? All you've done is make it a point to go out of your way to marginalize me since the Cylons attacked. You blew up a perfectly good battlestar and then you sent the ship I was on into the middle of a Cylon attack. Are you sure you weren't trying to get me killed?"

"You're overestimating how much you're worth; anyone could easily step into your shoes and do your job, and you're not irreplaceable."

"I think the same could apply to you, but then again I think the crew would gladly support me if they were given the chance. You may have been assigned to this ship to take command from me but this is my crew and not yours," Ortiz said.

"You're committing mutiny, Ortiz; think about what you're doing before you throw your life away," Charka said in an attempt to reason with her.

"Your time commanding my ship is over; either you step down as CO or I'll use force to make it happen."

Charka looked around and saw the looks on the faces of the crew and it began to dawn on him that Ortiz did have their support.

"Very well then, Ortiz, you win," Charka said before adding, "I will report to my quarters and stay confined there."

"You're not going to get that luxury," Ortiz said and turned to the nearest Marines, "Escort Commander Charka to the brig."

"There'll be a reckoning one day, maybe not in the near future but one day I will make you sorry for doing this," Charka said as the Marines led him away.

"The only thing I'm sorry for is not having done this sooner," Ortiz said.

After a moment to gather her thoughts Ortiz walked over to Chandler and said, "Colonel, I appreciate what you did, but how the frak did you know to send an encrypted message to me on the _Vasa _without Charka knowing about it?"

"I'm sorry, Commander, but I'm afraid that's classified," replied Chandler. Even with everything that had taken place since the return of the Cylons he was not comfortable about revealing anything to anyone.

"Classified? How classified?" Ortiz asked. She could not help but feel slightly taken aback by Chandler's response. It was not like him to be so secretive.

"It's classified to the point of where I would have to kill you and destroy the Ark Royal in order to maintain the secret. All I'm going to say is that it because of an event that I saw during my time aboard the Battlestar _Rakshasa_," Chandler explained. He felt that the generous amount of information he had provided was perhaps saying more than he should have.

"Wait a minute there nothing in your file about your serving aboard the _Rakshasa_?" Ortiz said with no attempt made at hiding her confusion. She mentally checked over Chandler's personnel file when he was assigned to the _Ark_ and it seemed quite odd. She had never before heard of sections of a person's service record simply being deleted.

"Who was the commanding officer?" she asked hoping she could at least get that piece of information from him.

"I'm not sure if I should answer that," Chandler quickly replied.

"Does it really matter now? It's not like the worlds we know are still around, the Cylons took care of that," Ortiz said hoping that Chandler would see things from her point of view.

"More than you can know," Chandler answered. His mind raced back to that particular mission that the _Rakshasa_.

Ortiz could not help but be stunned. In the year she had known Chandler he had never given the impression that he was nothing more than an officer trying to make his way through the peacetime Colonial Fleet. He had a wife and they were trying for a child; that much she knew, but there was not much more she could think of regarding his personal life or his life prior to coming to the _Ark Royal_. She began to wonder what other secrets Chandler could be hiding. The more she thought about it the more she began to realize that he was the last person she ever would think about having any kind of secret.


	8. Chapter 8: A Man, a Plan

**Chapter Eight: A Man, a Plan...**

**Station LCT (A)-2008:**

Doctor Marsha Hayden checked the vitals of the unconscious patient the pilots had brought to the station. She was able to identify the officer as Commander Elena Solheim of the Escort Battlestar _Vasa_. The George brothers had told her of how they had boarded the_ Vasa_ and pulled Solheim out of the ship before it exploded. She was quick to inform them about how reckless they were and they responded that the boss needed information from the ship and gaining the officer was a bonus.

"Hey, Doc, how is she?" a familiar voice asked from the door.

She turned and immediately recognized Flight Lieutenant Antwan Zelenka, the man who had piloted the stealth Raptor that had discovered the _Vasa._ "Hello, Lieutenant, she's stable now. I'm going to take X-rays and run some other tests to see if there's any internal damage I need to be concerned about."

"Boss said he wants you to do everything you can to keep her alive," Zelenka said as he walked over to where she stood by the unconscious Solheim.

"He's like that, isn't he? He should know by now that I always do everything I can to keep people alive," she said as she made some notes.

"You know how he is; that transport ship's commander is finding out the hard way. When he says something is going to happen it's a guarantee to happen; no point in arguing because it only ends badly," Zelenka said and the two of them shared a laugh.

She looked at the security camera and she was certain who was viewing the footage, or would view the footage when he decided to watch it. "Boss, she's going to be just fine. I'll make sure she's given the best care possible."

"You know what; I don't think anyone else could get away with pulling something like that."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm the only doctor he has on this secret little station of his. I think that gives me some latitude."

Zelenka thought about it for a moment before he said, "You do know the transport ship has a doctor on it."

She let out a dismissive huff. "That guy is a glorified nurse compared to me."

Zelenka laughed. "Aren't we just a bit touchy this morning?"

She gave him a playful punch on his arm. "You go see if your Raptor is going to need some work done to it after going through all that Cylon firepower."

Zelenka held up his arms in mock surrender and left the room without saying a word.

**Mjolnir Anchorage: **

There were only two people in the small conference room of Mjolnir Anchorage. Commander Audra Ortiz had come to the anchorage after the engagement with the Cylons when the _Vasa_ had been lost. Now that she had relieved Commander Caden Charka of command she had to decide what to do with Major Allison Knox, the woman Charka had appointed to lead the anchorage when he designated it as a base of operations.

"Major Knox, I've relieved Commander Charka of command of the _Ark Royal_," Commander Audra Ortiz announced. "I know he promoted you to the rank of Major and put you in charge of this anchorage. I need to know where your loyalties lie. I need to know that I can trust you and that you will not try to undermine me."

"Under the circumstances, Commander, I would rather give you my support than risk being relieved of command and joining Commander Charka in the brig; that is, if you put him in the brig," Knox said.

"Don't worry, Major; he's been confined to the brig for the time being. I relieved him of command, I didn't shoot him in the head so that he'd be out of my way for good," Ortiz said and she noticed that Knox looked visibly relieved.

"I didn't think that was the case, I just didn't know if you had confined him to his quarters or the brig," Knox quickly added.

Ortiz wanted to say something but decided against it. Instead she said, "Commander Charka was unfit for command. I believe the stress of combat and running from the Cylons was too much for him. For the safety of the _Ark Royal_ and its crew I relieved him. Let's have this be the last word on the subject."

Knox nodded. "Aye, ma'am, we won't have to talk about this again."

Ortiz smiled. "Excellent, I'll expect regular reports from you about what is going on here at the anchorage. I also want to know what the defensive capabilities are in case the Cylons do show up. If you need us to equip more weaponry I'm sure we can find some places to acquire you some more toys to use against the toasters."

She turned and left the conference room feeling cautiously optimistic about Knox and her ability to keep the station running. If she had been the one to appoint her as the anchorage's commanding officer it would be different but there was a part of her mind that viewed Charka's appointment with a degree of skepticism. They had been in the unknown for some time now, and it was easy to let that cloud judgment. She was sure the crew of the _Ark_ would agree with what she did but to an outsider it could perhaps be seen as a case of mutiny.

"Commander Ortiz, it's good to see you," Sergeant Major John Harbrecht said as he caught up to Ortiz as she walked down the corridor.

She looked at the Marine and was surprised. "Sergeant Major, I was sure you'd still be in bed after the beating that Centurion gave you."

"If I were an ordinary person perhaps, but Marines are made of sterner stuff than that," he said with the usual bravado expected of the Marines.

"Well. It seems I underestimated you," she said with a smile before asking, "Is there anything I can do for you? Do you want to be transferred back to the _Ark_?"

Harbrecht shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, Commander, but I think this anchorage is going to be valuable to us. If the Cylons do board then I'm going to need to train the Marines we have to fight like they're supposed to."

"I see, so you think you can be more useful here on than my battlestar?"

Harbrecht nodded. "That's correct, perhaps at some time down the road I'll take you up on coming back to the _Ark_. Like I said, I can be more helpful here right now."

"I respect that, but don't you think our Marines couldn't use your help in making sure they're up to the challenge of repelling boarders," Ortiz said as she turned a corner to head to the airlock where the _Ark_ was located.

"I'll look at who is on board and see if anyone can handle the job until I'm available. By the way, can you do me a favor?" Harbrecht asked.

Ortiz nodded. "Of course I can; what do you need?"

"The next time you find yourself in Sick Bay please inform Nurse Zahn that I'll have to repay her for slipping me that morpha injection back when the _Ark_ lost power. It'll probably involve dinner and dancing in either order."

She stifled a laugh. "She slipped you a morpha injection?"

"Yeah, I was pretty banged up and wanted to get out of bed to fight the Cylons. She managed to slip an injection of morpha into my IV and it was all downhill from there. Something tells me she may have done something like that in the past."

"I'll see what I can do about that," she said before bidding farewell to Harbrecht and boarding the _Ark_. When she was back onboard she did not head to Sick Bay; instead she made her way to the CIC.

**Battlestar **_**Basilisk**_**, CIC: **

The _Titan_ class battlestar _Basilisk_ was on its shakedown cruise when the Cylons struck; when word came that all retired Colonial Fleet personnel were to be recalled to active duty immediately it cleared the way for the dignitary to assume overall command of the ship.

Admiral Gary Ware had so far initiated a series of hit and run attacks against the Cylons. One day they would hit a Cylon supply depot in space or another day they would launch some space-to-surface missiles on the destroyed remains of one of the colonies. If there was one thing he remembered from his days as a pilot during the Cylon War was that actions mattered and could either increase or destroy morale. He may have had only one battlestar but he hoped that what he was doing would be enough to keep morale high among the crew.

He had immediately relieved Commander Charles Roan of command once the order from Fleet Headquarters had been received. Roan had protested but ultimately Ware was not going to change his mind. Roan had tried to be as helpful as he could, but unfortunately it had been an accident on the hangar deck that had caused his unfortunate demise. From what Ware had heard was that he was trying to rally the deck gang and build their spirits up when a rookie knuckle dragger had caused the accident to happen.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Colonel Sean O'Rourke asked. The man was the _Basilisk_'s original XO and had thrown his full support behind Ware assuming command of the ship.

Ware rubbed his chin in thought. "I was giving it some thought but I think it's important that we investigate what's out there. For all we know, they could be friendly."

"But wouldn't the Cylons have found their way to Mjolnir?"

Ware shook his head. "Mjolnir is a minor enough anchorage in the grand scheme of things; truth is, it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't even listed on the list of active anchorages."

"I understand, but shouldn't we have Vipers ready to fly just in case it's the Cylons," O'Rourke persisted.

Ware turned his attention to Tactical. "Call the crew to Action Stations, set Condition One throughout the ship, and get some Vipers in the launch tubes ASAP."

The Tactical officer nodded while the Communications officer began to announce Actions Stations throughout the _Basilisk_.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CAG's Office: **

"You look so excited right now," Captain Alisa 'Dagger' Stark said when she saw the look on the CAG's face.

Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter looked up at her, "I'm trying to integrate our rookie pilots in with the pilots from the _Kios_ and the survivors from the _Vasa_; and that's a conversation for another day."

Stark walked in and closed the door behind her. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

Hunter exhaled slowly. "I just don't think it was a good idea to essentially sacrifice a modernized escort battlestar. Tactically, it's a waste and if there's one thing we don't need to do is waste our resources."

"I didn't realize you thought so highly of the _Vasa_," Stark said in a tone that was more serious than she had realized.

"I thought when I reported aboard, that _Vasa_ was a step beneath me. I was a pilot on the _Atlantia_; then I get told I'm going to lead a group of test pilots on an escort battlestar so Adar can see if a smaller ship can deliver as well as a regular sized battlestar. Over the time I was on there I came to appreciate her for what she was, a tough little ship. I just think Commander Charka sacrificed her for no real reason."

"I think Commander Ortiz felt the same way, especially considering she relieved him of command," Stark said.

"Well, if she hadn't I think somebody would have," Hunter said.

"Perhaps, but there's still the chance that people might think she went a little too far," Stark said.

"Now don't you go telling me that you're upset because she's the one who beat you to it?" Hunter said in what he hoped would lighten the conversation.

"I think you would be the one upset about that. The great hero Archangel goes out in his Viper and single-handedly destroys every Cylon and then when he comes back to his battlestar to dispense justice to its evil commander he finds that someone has already done it, might tarnish that image of yours a little," she countered with a smile.

"Is that how you see me, some kind of wannabe hero?" Hunter asked feigning hurt.

"Sweetie, that's how everyone sees you but you don't seem to be all that aware of it."

"Since you've been so late bringing this to my attention, I think I should assign the second-best Viper pilot on this ship to mopping the ready room floors," Hunter said and he was not surprised when Stark gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"So, what do you think is going to happen next?" she asked.

"I think we're at that point where if this was one of those chick flicks you watch we'd probably have kissed or something."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. You seem to forget this is real life and not a movie," she said.

"You may be in the minority there, I think the lines between real and fantasy can get blurred after some combat patrols."

"Well, CAG, that's something that falls in your job description," Stark said before she turned and started leaving the room.

"Where are you heading?" he asked.

"I'm hungry and I think it's about time I went and did something about it," she said as she left the room.

_**Ark Royal**_**: **

_**Ark Royal**_**, Commanding Officer's Quarters:**

Ortiz poured a glass of water and handed it to her guest. "Colonel Killian, I'm assuming you know why I asked to meet with you."

Colonel Patrick Killian nodded, "I knew it was coming once you relieved Commander Charka of command; I've had plenty of time to decide my fate."

"Now what exactly do you think your fate is going to be?" she asked.

"I came in as XO when you and Colonel Hawkins were replaced, so I imagine that in your opinion I represent the new regime and you're probably eager to reassign me or throw me in the brig with Commander Charka," Killian said with the bluntness of his Libran heritage.

"Yes, I've toyed with the idea of putting you in there, but I don't know if that's going to be necessary. Colonel, you're an unknown If I were to keep you on as XO I would need to know that could trust you to stay loyal to me and not try to stab me in the back."

Killian was thoughtful for a few moments before he said, "Just because I was assigned to this ship as Charka's XO doesn't mean I was loyal to him. My loyalty is to this ship and its crew; I would like to think that you and I could work together."

"I think we can see how things work out with you keeping your position. Colonel Hawkins will have her hands full helping to make sure our cadets and rookie pilots are up to the challenge."

Killian was quick to ask, "What about Colonel Thomas?"

"He's still going to remain in his role as an advisor to Colonel Hawkins; after all he's forgotten more about flying a Viper than some of those pilots will ever learn."

It was then that the announcement came over the ship. "Commander Ortiz and Colonel Killian, you are needed in the CIC immediately."

As both Ortiz and Killian bolted from the room the klaxons came on with the announcement for Action Stations and to set Condition One throughout the ship. Both officers knew that something big was happening; whether it was the Cylons or something else all together remained to be seen.

_**Ark Royal**_**, CIC: **

"Sitrep," Ortiz called out once she and Killian had stepped into the CIC.

"Large object, unsure if it's a Cylon baseship," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler announced from Tactical.

"Ma'am, the ship is identifying itself as the _Basilisk_. The commander wishes to speak with you," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward said from his post at Communications.

Ortiz picked up the receiver from its cradle, "This is _Ark Royal_ Actual, whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"For your sake you'd better not be lying to me or else you're going to be real sorry, this is Admiral Gary Ware of the Battlestar _Basilisk_. No doubt you've heard the name," Ware's voice said in its usual confident demeanor.

"I know you by name and reputation. I am Commander Audra Ortiz; it's nice to stumble upon a friendly face," she said.

"Well I was starting to wonder if there were anymore battlestars out there; do you think you can have your ship ready to receive me in about half an hour?"

"Admiral Ware, it would be my honor to have you over," she said.

"Excellent, I'll have a Raptor ready to take me to you," Ware said and then the connection was severed.

"I think this could be a development in our favor," Killian said once he saw the display on the DRADIS mark the target as the _Basilisk_.

"It depends on your opinion of the matter. That ship has Admiral Gary Ware on board and he's going to be here in half an hour," Ortiz said.

"You're telling me it's the Gary Ware; my old man told me stories about his exploits during the Cylon War."

"I know his reputation but now we're going to meet the legend in person. I want you to get a proper welcome prepared on the hangar deck. I'm going to have a meeting with Colonel Thomas and get his input on just what kind of person Admiral Ware is," Ortiz said before turning to leave the CIC.

"We found Gary Ware," Killian quietly said as he shook his head and began, with Chief Lancaster, about getting the hangar deck ready to give Admiral Ware a proper welcome.

**Battlestar**_** Basilisk**_**, CIC:**

"Admiral, looks like we've taken a turn for the better," Colonel Sean O'Rourke said.

"You could say that, I had a feeling we were going to get lucky sooner or later," Ware said as he looked up at the DRADIS where the _Ark Royal_ was marked.

"I thought the _Ark Royal_ was supposed to be undergoing its inactivation," Commander Walter Beckett, the man who served as Ware's aide for the shakedown cruise, said.

"Looks like it survived by some miracle," Ware said.

"Perhaps now we can do more than just these hit and run attacks we've had to do," O'Rourke said.

"It would be nice to mount a proper offensive. Truth be told these, guerilla warfare tactics don't suit me at all," Ware admitted.

"It does make you wonder if there are any other survivors out there," Beckett said.

"Perhaps, but right now let's just assume it's just us and the _Ark Royal_; no need to announce to the Cylons that we've teamed up with a battlestar that's almost as powerful as ours," Ware said as his mind began to think of the possibilities that could come from suddenly having a second battlestar at his disposal.

"When do you plan on going over to visit the CO?" Beckett asked.

"Soon enough, I'll make my grand entrance and let Commander Ortiz know what I expect of her," Ware said.

"Who will be in charge when you're away?" O'Rourke asked.

"Well, Colonel, you'll be in command while I'm away," Ware said to him. Then he turned his attention to Beckett. "Commander, you and the CAG will be coming along with me. I want you to have a Raptor fueled and ready to launch within the next half hour."

"I'll make it happen," Beckett said before turning to leave Command and Control.

**Lieutenant Commander Lloyd Thomas' Quarters:**

Ortiz stepped into the room was saw that Thomas was too involved in his work to notice her entrance.

She was going to say something when he turned to her and said, "I assume you're either going to say something or keep staring at me unable to speak."

Ortiz fought back the urge to chuckle, "I have a dignitary coming onboard shortly."

"Good for you, Commander; you get to work on those charming diplomatic skills you possess," he said to her as he began making notes on a piece of paper.

"The dignitary is Admiral Gary Ware," she said. She immediately saw the pencil that Thomas was holding stop in its place at the mention of the name. "He's onboard the Battlestar _Basilisk_, and he's made contact with us."

Thomas dropped the pencil to the desk and began to massage his temples as though a migraine was coming on. "Of all the people to run into after all this it just had to be him!"

Ortiz noticed the word 'him' was said with a tone of disgust. "I take it you and Ware have a history."

"The funny thing about Gary Ware is that back when he was a rookie pilot on the _Ulysses_, the CAG gave him the call sign 'Hot Shot' because even as a rook he believed himself the best of the best. The crazy thing about Ware is that he was actually a damn good pilot and he quickly proved himself; the problem is that the media got wind of this and propped him up to the level of a minor celebrity," Thomas said.

"I can only imagine how well that went over," Ortiz said.

"Stryker and I both thought he was a bit overrated, and there were plenty of times I heard of where he left his wingman to go pursue a Raider or land an attack on a baseship. Of course, those were never reported in the media because even the Admiralty realized they needed all the good press they could get during the war."

Ortiz began to wonder how Ware managed to keep his career in the Fleet with actions like that. "Wouldn't he have eventually be moved to one of the training battlestars or one of the fleet air stations to help pass on what he knew to the new pilots?"

"Stryker tried that route and almost succeeded with it, the problem was President Morrigan," Thomas said as he remembered the series of conflicts between Admiral Jonas Stryker and President Gwyneth Morrigan during that period of the Cylon War.

"What did she have to do with that?" Ortiz asked.

"Keep in mind that Gary Ware had moved up the ranks to Captain and was not far from being rocketed up to Major, and the more attention he got from the media the more he caught the eye of Morrigan. When Stryker assigned Ware to Tift Fleet Air Station on Caprica so that he could train pilots, it was Morrigan who personally overrode his decision and kept Ware as a squadron leader on the _Viknor_," Thomas said as his mind went back to those days during the Cylon War.

"I'm surprised Admiral Stryker didn't just resign in protest," Ortiz said. It was hard to imagine being in Stryker's position and having to deal with a President he ended up arguing with more often than not.

"He thought about leading a coup against her but ultimately realized the Colonies needed the stability in the government if they were going to survive the war," Thomas said and he looked at Ortiz and got an idea as to what she was probably thinking. "Ware and I were considered two of the best pilots in the Fleet and the media picked up on that. They tried to make a fun rivalry of sorts between us but truth was I wasn't interested in it. I let my flying and scorecard do the talking for me. Ware tried to bait me in the media by making comments about how he was the superior pilot, and when I injured my leg and couldn't fly anymore he made it a point to say how it proved he was the superior pilot because he would have never allowed himself to get injured."

"Looks like we have a real piece of work on our hands," Ortiz said after exhaling a long breath.

"We're stuck with him for lack of better words and he's an admiral so keep that in mind, he won't be quite as easy to usurp as Commander Charka was," Thomas said.

"Yeah," Ortiz said almost absently before adding, "We're all needed on the hangar deck for his arrival. Dress Greys are in order so you may want to be ready for it."

Thomas laughed, "I'll make sure I put on my best smile and not give that bastard a reason to throw me in the brig."

_**Ark Royal**_**, Brig:**

Ortiz wasted little time in getting into her Dress Greys for the arrival of Admiral Ware but there was one stop she wanted to make before she found her way to the hangar. She had wondered if she would do this now or later and her mind told her that now was as good a time as any to get this particular chore out of the way.

The Marine guard had left the room leaving her alone with the sole occupant of the brig, the man she had just recently relieved of command.

Commander Caden Charka looked at her with an amused look in his eye. "You dressed up to come pay me a visit."

Ortiz looked down at her dress uniform and then back at him. "Don't flatter yourself; I didn't get dressed up for your benefit."

"A pity, so then what is it that requires you to break out your best uniform?" he asked.

"If you really must know, we made contact with the Battlestar_ Basilisk_ and Admiral Gary Ware is on board. He's coming over for a little visit to this fine ship," she said.

Charka's eyes lit up in recognition. "Well, you certainly wasted no time in finding someone higher up on the food chain to come see you; let's hope Admiral Ware doesn't cross you or else I might find myself with some company in this cell."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were so lonely," she retorted.

"Oh it's not that, I actually thought I would be joined by Colonel Killian," Charka admitted.

Ortiz wanted to make a sarcastic comment but thought better of it, "I'm keeping Colonel Killian on as my XO; he's assured me that he has my loyalty and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"That's nice of you, Ortiz; I'd hate to think that you would do something so crazy as to throw someone in the brig who didn't belong," Charka said with his voice still keeping a civil tone of voice.

"If he gives me a reason not to trust him then he'll be keeping you company," she assured him.

"The crazy thing is that I believe in the idea that there is an action that results from our decisions, and while it may not be realized right away that doesn't mean it's not going to come around one day," he said.

"Is that some kind of threat you're telling me philosophically?" she asked.

"You can judge me by my actions and perhaps in hindsight I let the situation get the better of me; but the fact remains that you unlawfully stripped me of my command and imprisoned me. Right now you can strut around in your dress uniform and proclaim yourself the boss here on the_ Ark_ but there may come a time when you and I could easily trade places," he said without a hint of menace to his voice.

"Well that could happen, Charka, but for the time being you're where you are and I'm where I am, and I have no intention of ever trading places with you," she said as she turned and left the brig.

Charka waited until she was gone before he said, "Enjoy your time on top, I'm a very patient man."

**Thirty Minutes Later:**

_**Ark Royal**_**, Hangar Deck:**

The ship's company looked immaculate as they gathered on the hangar deck for the welcoming for Admiral Ware. Commander Ortiz looked around and was pleased that both the officers and enlisted personnel looked presentable as though there was the anticipated inspection of a flag officer.

"Looks like everything has come together," she said to Colonel Killian.

"Chief Lancaster got this place spotless in no time, I think he went above and beyond," Killian responded.

"Commander, is it true that we found Admiral Ware?" Major Hunter asked.

Ortiz nodded. "That's correct, CAG, if you believe the hype then we have ourselves a living legend about to step onboard."

Captain Stark was standing beside Hunter and whispered, "Are you going to shake his hand and ask him for an autograph?"

Hunter thought of something to respond with and quickly whispered back, "If it was Leon Delroy you'd shake his hand, get an autograph, hug him, try to kiss him, and then propose marriage."

Stark narrowed her eyes at him. "I would have you know that I'd propose marriage first."

Hunter let out a small laugh. He knew that Alisa Stark was a fan of pyramid star Leon Delroy, going back to when he was a member of the Picon Panthers. When he signed a lucrative contract with the Gemenon Twins she contemplated changing her loyalty, but decided she would find a way to cheer for both teams.

"Quiet down," Ortiz chided.

"Yes, ma'am," Hunter said.

"Yes, ma'am," Stark said as well.

"Admiral Ware has arrived," the voice of Lieutenant Horace Westerby announced from his station in Air Traffic Control.

Ortiz was quick to call the crew to attention and she waited as the Raptor containing Admiral Ware was brought to the hangar deck. The deck gang maneuvered it into place where it would be possible for Ware to step directly onto the red carpet that Chief Lancaster had found to use for the occasion.

She watched as the Raptor's hatch opened and out stepped a man in wearing the uniform of a Commander followed by a man wearing the uniform of a Major. After what seemed an eternity Admiral Ware stepped out in his Dress Greys with the sash adorned with a large number of medals that he had accumulated during his military career. He stood there taking in the sight of the _Ark Royal_ and its crew standing before him.

"At ease," he finally shouted so that all in the hangar could hear him. It was then that he finally stepped down and walked the red carpet to the spot where Ortiz, Killian, Hunter, and Stark were standing.

"Admiral Ware," Ortiz said as she snapped off a salute to the flag officer, "It is an honor to have you onboard the _Ark Royal_."

Ware returned the salute then smiled at her. "Commander Ortiz, I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me to find that there are other survivors."

"I have taken the liberty of having the Admiral's Mess prepared for you and your people," she said.

"I knew you would make sure you did the right thing," Ware said before taking a step back and raising his voice, "Crew of the _Ark Royal_, I could not be happier to have come across you and your ship. I cannot imagine what all you have been through since the Cylons attacked. However, I give you my solemn word as a flag officer in the Colonial Fleet that we shall do what we can to avenge the losses that we have suffered since those metal bastards attacked us without warning and without mercy. With every fiber of my being we shall take the offensive. Gods willing, we will drive the Cylons away from our home worlds and make sure they stay gone this time! I will do everything I can to make sure you wear that uniform with pride in a manner that befits a Colonial warrior. Take the time to rejoice because your salvation has arrived!"

The crew erupted in a series of cheers and Ware stood there taking in the moment. He could feel the need for the crew of the _Ark Royal_ to have a purpose to believe in; otherwise they would merely be drifting aimlessly. He could only imagine that they had been on the run since the Cylons attacked. Now that he was here they would be going on the offense instead of trying to hide. He would give them a purpose instead of mere survival, and they would be successful as long as they followed his orders.

**Author's Note: The character of Admiral Gary Ware and the Battlestar _Basilisk_ were both introduced in 'Battlestar Victorious: Volume One'. Their appearance in the story will hopefully provide a part of what happened before their paths crossed with the _Victorious_.**


End file.
